The Epic of Bell Ōtsutsuki
by Dreaming of Swords
Summary: Slight AU 'Becoming a Hero is all well and good, but if you don't have a reason, a purpose to become one. Then it all becomes a monumental waste of effort. I learned that, and through my failure I gained a motivation to become a Hero. It is through those that have accepted me and love me for who I am, that I will become their Hero' Godlike Bell Harem
1. The Beginning

**Sometimes, I really do hate Crunchyroll, I really do because after beating Batman: Arkham Knight, I went surfing the site on the forums again and I came across this particular anime that was reaching popularity. So, I made the mistake to watch it, care to take a guess as to what it was? No? Okay, I'll tell you.**

 **It's called DanMachi or for the anime it's known as _Is it wrong to pick up girls in a Dungeon?_ And I gotta say, I am loving every moment of it. I've bench watched the first season of 13 episodes, read the manga chapters out so far and am currently working on the light novel now. But I got so many idea's that I just couldn't let this go.**

 **So I made this. This is a slight AU with a major crossover with Naruto and a slight crossover into Bleach. It's a mix-mash of some of my idea's so if it's all mediocre then I apologize, my mind just went wild on this. That said the canon/non-canon differences here is that Bell is 15 and he started his adventuring career much earlier.**

 **Now I say no more, enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Epic of Bell Ōtsutsuki**

Prologue: The Beginning

Let me tell you a story...

A tale about a boy, a child, a young man who's dream was to be a Hero.

He was a peculiar boy, an energetic lad, hyperactive yet curious about every little thing he ever saw. He was visually very different from everyone due to his strikingly white hair and red eyes, but that's what made him so unique. He was bright, ethereal to a degree, he was unlike any other I have ever seen in my long life but, that could be attributed to his unique heritage. The child loved a lot of things, but the most joy he found in was in my own handwritten story books about the Heroes of Old, the Heroes of Myth that attained their status through hard work and deathly adventure's.

Those were his favorite, he loved the story about Hercules and his 12 Labors, about how the great Theseus slayed the Minotaur, and even the story of Perseus and his battle against Medusa. The boy loved those stories and never grew tired of listening to their tales, not once. The exuberance in his eyes as he read those stories over and over again told me all I needed to know, the boy had gained a dream. When I asked him what he wanted to be, he answered in the only manner I knew he would.

 _''I...I want to be like them, Grandpa! I want to be strong, I want to be a Hero!''_ that was his answer, an answer filled with all the childlike enthusiasm and innocence expected from a boy his age. However, unlike other children, he truly stuck to those words and he went out on his first adventure into the woods outside our village.

He got lost of course and I found him after awhile and was about to admonish his behavior and his reckless endangerment of himself. That is until I found the boy crying a good few meters away, now that wasn't at all that surprising but what was, was the corpse of a clearly dead wild Kobold at the boy's feet. Now, you have to imagine my surprise, no adventurer's had been in the area at the time, it was only my grandson. There had been no protector's from our village either in the vicinity. So, this left me with only one conclusion, something that left me feeling something I haven't felt since I found the boy as a newborn.

Excitement...

My grandson, a boy of only 4 year's of age, had somehow or someway killed a Kobold, and the way it died was a feat in of itself. It's body had been scorched and was still burning in flames. But not like any other flame, it was flames I was all too familiar with, they were the very flames of Hell itself. Wielded only by the Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu and all those affiliated by her flames, but I knew the boy hadn't been touched by Amaterasu, so what was it? What caused it? I wasn't exactly sure myself.

But I was sure of one thing, it had something to do with the boy's unique heritage. I made sure the boy never knew of this one simple fact, but the fact was the boy didn't have normal parents like any other human child. The boy was in fact a miraculous existence in of itself, he was a born conundrum that questioned everything I've ever known. His existence was a secret to all of the known world, something I made sure kept hidden away from even my own kind. Cause you see...

 _The boy was not of this world..._

Now before you go and disregard this as an old man's rambling let me explain, the boy isn't apart of this world because I found or more in fact _felt_ his existence left astray in the cosmos. Being an existence that I am, I was able to feel throughout the galaxy and I felt the boy's presence in the vast sea of star's. And so I traveled and found him in a derelict vessel of some sort, beyond any ability to salvage, but it was in that ship I found the boy. He was but, a fresh newborn wrapped up in silk wrappings of strange dialect design and other objects that I have kept to this day.

I know not nor have I fully learned of what that dialect means, but I have kept it secret from everyone including the boy as I knew from my own experience that such strange incidents have caused great conflict's amongst those of my kind. Which is why I have hidden the boy from their eyes, he was only a fresh newborn babe and deserved to live his own life. Only when he reached of age, would I feel the need to give him what was rightfully his birthright.

Still, with that fact coming back to remind me that this was no normal child, this left me pondering about the boy, even after that incident he still pushed himself to be strong, he was adventurous for one so young and because of that I decided to give him a little push in the direction he wanted. It was purely on a whim really, a sliver of excitement I hadn't felt since I first found him drifting among those stars but, it was that which urged me on to give the boy that one little push just to see what kind of path lay before him.

That little push was me teaching him how to unlock the energy within him...

I was able to decipher a few thing's from the belongings with the child; the first being the boy's name which was oddly similar to the language used in the Eastern Lands of the Earth. And the other was the fact that the boy held an energy that was very much like my own kind. It was the aspect of the two energies that I have come to know as Physical energy and Spiritual energy combined to create one universal energy that sung across the cosmos. It was the very energy of every living thing in existence, Gods themselves were no exception to this fact. There just hadn't been a name for it until I was able to decipher it from what was found with the boy himself. Humans and other races with God's Grace on this planet could use energy but, was only able to utilize the spiritual half called Mana, so this energy was in of itself unique and exciting to me.

So I had him unlock it, to release the energy that Gods themselves were physical manifestations of and that was _Chakra._

If the depth of one's mana was how one could measure the potential one had then what I had felt from the boy when he managed to unlock his chakra was unlike anything I'd ever witnessed. It had sent my mind boggling when he broke the lock on his power he was born with, it had made my own celestial being resonate with his chakra. The resulting backlash had been utterly massive, and if I hadn't knocked out the boy I was sure it would have alerted the other Gods to his presence.

...Never before had I ever been so outright terrified and yet so thrilled as well from seeing so much potential in such a young soul.

Still...I saw it, for a moment I truly saw the kind of path the boy wanted to walk, the road he would travel. It would be a road filled with incredible hardship, one that would break anyone else, but it would be one filled with adventure, one filled with all sorts of battles and people that he would come to call friends and even more so for others. It was a road he would forge for himself, a road that would define a generation, a road that...

A road that would ultimately bring great change to both the Heavens and the Earth.

At that moment, any shred of doubt I had for the boy was wiped clean, I knew he would become something great. I could see it every time I looked at him. He would become just like those Heroes he admired so much and much more, he was filled with so much passion, so much spirit that I could not help, but support him. Because I knew, as his Grandfather and as one of the Elder Gods, I knew without a doubt...

 _ **He would become the Greatest Hero to ever walk the Earth, the Shining Star that would surpass the Heavens itself.**_

 **OwO**

 _The darkness greeted him like a long lost friend and as he opened his eyes it was lifted as if a veil had been torn from him. Recognition and familiarity lit up in his gaze as he looked upon his surroundings with a nostalgic expression._

" _Ah...I'm here again."_

 _He knew this place..._

 _How could he not? This was where he was raised by his Grandfather. It was a small humble little village outside the Labyrinth city of Orario, a village like many others meant for those with skills for farming and the cultivation of foods and resources. It was a village of poverty, one barely protected by the adventurer's of Orario yet one of the few that provided the largest amount of resources to the city._

 _He stood there, amongst a village that was as silent a graveyard which in all honesty it was. It was nighttime in this little whimsical memory of his, but one he would not soon forget. Turning his gaze to the left, his eyes fell upon the lands left untouched by the villagers so far, the same lands that were a bit away's from the village itself._

 _The grassy fields of his village were always something to be admired, it was his favorite spot as a child, when he was done with his chores for the day he always ran toward those ever stretching fields laughing, playing and having the time of his young life. It was what kept him up in high spirit from the way he lived. He was a child of poverty, there was no denying this fact, he knew nothing else then that lifestyle. It was harsh, almost unforgiving at times, but in the end it taught him more about life and to how treasure every second of it._

 _Living as a child with no parents and only his grandfather to raise him and teach him, he learned early on how to till the land, grow your own food, build your own home. He couldn't remember his parents as it was said they died when he was young, but he didn't care, he had his grandfather. It was him who taught him all he knew today, how to cherish every second of life he had, it was because of him that he walked down the path he was on this very day._

 _Though he only started down that path on his 7 birthday when his grandfather died..._

 _It was said he had been chased by a monster and fell down a ravine, such a drop was too much for anyone, and it was recorded he died._

 _He remembered that event clearly, it was the day he lost the only thing left tying him to this world. His Grandfather had been his only family he had left and with him gone, he was left alone in the world. Yet he couldn't allow himself to cry infront of anyone, only in the solace of his home would he allow himself that luxury. However he still remembered his grandfather's words before he left that day, the same words he kept remembering since he started his adventure._

 _'Every beginning starts at a humble one, just like when a newborn makes their first steps for the first time, an adventurer should make his first steps something to remember. Make your adventure worthwhile, become strong and make your own tale worth remembering. Become the strongest, the brightest of them all, and only when you stand at the top should you share that light with those close to you.'_

 _Those were the words he lived by to this very day. It was his code, the saying that made him keep going despite the odds he faced. Even if his body was broken, beaten and torn, he would stand up and keep walking forward to that Dream, that Goal. Even when others would shy away in the face of his presence, even as he steeped himself in an ocean of blood and death, he was satisfied if he could come back home to see the face of his new family._

 _The world of his memories around him shimmered and broke apart like a wave crashing against a rocky shore and what greeted him next was a sight that pushed away the darkness festering in his soul. It was the faces of those he wanted to protect the most. The very same people who were the reasons as to why he pushed himself like he did time and time and time again. Never faltering, never surrendering, they were his motivation, his reason to live and for them he would conquer anything that stood in his path._

" _Yeah..." the young man told himself as the faces of his loved ones gathered before him. **They** were his dream now. "Becoming a Hero is all well and good, but if you don't have a reason, a purpose to become one, then it all becomes a monumental waste of effort.'' he spoke from experience. He knew this better then anyone else, ever since he started his adventure he never stopped pushing himself, even when his body was beaten and broken, **he never stopped**._

 _He wanted to become strong, stronger then anyone, it was why after his Grandfather died he moved to Orario and threw himself into the Labyrinth of Orario with little more then the clothes on his back and a knife in hand. Strength is what made you stand out amongst the norm, and due to his small stature he was written off by most of the familia in Orario. But he never let that discourage him, in fact it was what drove him into those suicidal runs into the dungeon every day._

 _Their was pain, oh so much pain when he began, but the pain mattered little to the mental sorrow he suffered every waking moment of his life. He was alone in the world, he had no one to come home to, no one to call his family anymore. He lived a lonely existence that he covered up with his drive to become strong. He closed off his heart, his soul to the world and became nothing more than a machine without a purpose._

 _But then he found a purpose...the light that shattered the darkness of his soul. **She** had been the first of a few, but she was the first one. His most beloved light, she was the one who gave him a chance where others turned their backs on him. She gave him something he could never repay, she, a Goddess, had given him the chance to be the first of her familia. Her **family.**_

 _...He could never repay such compassion and in the end he accepted with the duty of supporting himself and his Goddess. She gave him a chance and in turn he would make sure her decision wasn't wasted on him. Despite her saying otherwise, she became his first light and with it a purpose for him to become a Hero he so dreamed to become._

" _...She was the first, but not the last. For them, for all of them, I will become their Hero." as his thoughts waned on his purpose, his resolve strengthened as he looked upon the additional faces of those he had came to know since he started his adventure when he was only 7 year's old. Their smiles, their encouragement, they were his purpose, his drive to become strong._

 _But among those faces another appeared, one that shined just as brightly as the others. But her face escaped him, all that he knew was her long gold hair and golden eyes._

" _Who...are you?" he questioned, though it was left unanswered, her face was familiar to him. It reminded him of the days of when he first began his adventure, but he was not sure why. That long flowing golden hair and those orbs of liquid gold was strikingly familiar to him, and yet he could not fathom as to why. Why did this person's face make him feel uneasy? As if he had forgotten something._

 _However there was something else lurking behind those faces, something dwelling in the darkness. He wasn't sure what but, it was always there when he awoke to these memories of his. It was a dark and hollow feeling he felt, but among everyone, even of his Grandfather, he felt something was amiss. Something was in that darkness of his, waiting, festering within his soul just waiting to come out at any given moment of his own weakness._

" _I know this feeling..." he did, he had known about it for as long as he could remember. One secret he had kept from even his grandfather, the one thing that had come along with him when he unlocked his natural born power. The sentient entity that latched onto his soul like a leech and fed upon his own darkness._

 _Even now he could feel it, writhing around, moving in accordance to his own thoughts. As if to scorn him and his existence, reminding him that he was not human, that he was an existence that was much more yet much less then a human._

 _ **He was a Monster.**_

 _But his thoughts were left unattended once again as the darkness came back, swallowing up his world in a never ending tsunami of ebony. Consuming what light he had built up within his soul and with it his eyes closed to the eternal night. His body surrendered to the nigh omnipotent force of the blackness, and he let his body still as he let his mind drift away once again. Amongst the inky black waves that threatened to consume his entire being and yet it embraced him like a long lost friend._

 **OwO**

Warmth was the first thing he felt upon returning to the land of the living, the steady beat of his heart was the first sign that he was alive. Then he felt for his surroundings, an instinctual habit if nothing else and he relaxed when he felt the familiar feeling of his bedroom. His body adjusted to his worn out lumpy couch, the springs punching into his back. Mildly discomforting but, nothing he had grown used to. However, once he regained motor function of his body again he became well aware of something else.

Their was a weight on top of him, a distinctly smaller body then his own and one he was all too familiar with. Upon opening his eyes, orbs of the purest crimson pierced through the darkness and they looked down to see another person sleeping with him. Pulling the cover over him off slightly he was unsurprised to see it was a young looking girl that appeared to be his age. She had long silky black hair and a fair complexion. If her eyes were open one would have been greeted by the sight of the deepest blue one would ever have the honor of seeing. The young girl in question was dressed only in a light blue tank top and panties. The clothing only accentuated her robust bosom, wide hips and tight buttocks, a contradictory to her rather young appearance.

If he was younger he would have been affected by this show of flesh and display of affection from this girl, but he had grown accustomed to it and on some level welcomed it. After all, her appearance could be deceiving to many as she was in fact a Goddess, one of many that resides in the Lower World. She was _his_ Goddess, his most cherished person, the one who saved him and in turn he vowed to protect with all his might.

 _'Hestia-sama...'_ that was the name of his Goddess, one that had the appearance of a teenager, but was in fact a transcendent existence in her own right. While not as well known as other God's and Goddesses, she was still one to be respected. He respected her but, also took care of her when she got in over her head on certain matters as he had learned early on when he joined her that she always seemed to get in trouble.

She was a glutton, clumsy, hyperactive as he was when he was a child and was always finding ways to steep herself in debt with her fellow deities. He remembered on a few occasions having to spend his entire sum to get her out of trouble with them, with the risk of revealing himself to the other deities as well. But with his dungeon runs on his own he was recently able to completely get her out of the debt she put herself in with the other Gods. How she could put herself in a 200,000,000 Vali debt was through a series of events before she met him 8 year's ago.

...But he wouldn't have wanted her any other way.

Running his hand through her long black tresses with all the tenderness acquired from year's of being under Hestia's affection and compassion. The young man allowed a small smile to grace his features as he stared down at the girl. Hestia was the Goddess of the Hearth and Family, and treated him with so much compassion when she first found him that he had been balked by her generosity. In his mind, he could never repay her, which is why he dutifully vowed to always be at her side when she always needed it. Be that against other Familia's or the other deities themselves, he would stand at her side and slay anyone that stood to oppose or oppress her.

He was her sword and shield, to be used how she pleased. That was his vow to her as the only familia dependent she had, he understood her position with the other deities and made sure she understood he would be at her side regardless of what others may think or say.

 _'Yes...let them come...'_ his eyes _burned_ at the notion of conflict with the other familia, while he and Hestia were on good terms with a few familia's that worked for their keep. The same couldn't be said for those that stood at the higher echelon that looked down on the others. He remembered perfectly well on those that looked down on him when he first arrived in Orario. Now that he was older, stronger then he could have ever dreamed of becoming, he stood ready to oppose them or _anyone_ for Hestia.

Feeling her hum against his touch he felt her sink even more into his body and he let out a sigh, shaking his head he turned to look up at the window and, seeing the midnight sky made him narrow his eyes. From his view of the sky it had just reached midnight meaning most of the occupants in Orario were fast asleep.

Which was his time to get started on his nightly activities...

There was a reason his existence was a mystery to the other deities in Orario and more to the other familia, he knew of his unique status when Hestia bestowed upon him her Grace. A secret shared only between him and her and no one else, and that was the fact that he had a unique ability that, if found out by others would cause a massive conflict with the other Familia's. And that was one of his inherent skill's called Realis Phrase.

It was a rare skill that Hestia said was the first of it's kind. It was a single minded pursuit ability that enhanced the speed of growth to the user as long as his or her feelings for the one who awakened the ability lasted. It's what enabled him to grow so quickly as it was Hestia who awakened that ability the first time they met. At first he didn't understand as to what it meant and, Hestia didn't let a single moment pass her by where she didn't tease him about it. Yet over time he began to understand what it meant and least to say he wasn't the least bit troubled by it.

But there in itself was a problem, he grew too fast for a human and to protect himself he conjured a facade of a shy inexperienced boy for the citizen's of Orario to underestimate. Yet underneath that exterior was someone else, _something_ else that was far too dangerous to be kept alive in the eyes of the other Gods if it was known publicly. It was a double life he lived but, it was for the safety of Hestia and those he cared for, it was to protect them from those that would seek to harm anyone that was close to him. Which was why he chose the split facade in the first place; to throw off his enemies.

 _'But, there is more to this, of that I am sure.'_ he thought about that, even with the Realis Phrase making his growth speed far faster then most it couldn't fully explain everything else that made him distinctly different from everyone else. He'd known he was different from most others the moment his grandfather unlocked his power when he was 4 year's old. What that power was, he wasn't sure of but, it was very different from others since it was something of his own inherent body instead of something gifted by the God's Grace.

After that power was unlocked he became aware of other skills and abilities he was made wary of through his adventure's but, it got stranger as they couldn't be recorded by Hestia's Grace. Abilities that weren't gifted by it's Blessing but, were similar to a skill's he inherited on his own, and not by the Falna which was powered by the Blessing of the God or Goddess. Which was impossible since without a Deities Blessing Humans or other races were not able efficiently use their inherent abilities as effectively, if at all.

His in particular were a wide range of Skill's and Congenital Magic abilities that were far _far_ too abnormal to be listed among the Modern terminology of other skill's and Magic abilities. Even Hestia was a bit freaked when he mentioned it to her which was why he kept those particular abilities to himself and strictly used only at his own leisure.

 _'Speaking of which, it's about time to get started.'_ mentally apologizing to his Goddess, he snaked himself out of her embrace, gently as to not rise her from her peaceful slumber before casting his gaze toward his equipment. Taking hold of his backpack he threw it over his shoulders before putting on his leather boots, black gloves and lightweight armor. It was of very simple design of a stark white metallic sheen with crimson outlines. It was the current armor he bought under the blacksmith name of Welf Crozzo but, he never managed to find the man to enlist him. The armor consisted of a light chest plate, shoulderguards, forearm protectors and shin guards.

The armor served it's purpose, it was cheap and it protected him well enough, he didn't have the funds to buy other expensive armor's as most of his funds went to supporting him and Hestia. The excess amounts of Vali he had were being transferred into the Bank of Orario for a rainy day. Strapping his armor over his long sleeved black shirt and black pants, then he went for his weapon of choice, and the very weapon Hestia had given to him as a gift 8 year's ago when he was just a few month's into his adventuring career.

Pulling out a small black sheathe, he pulled out a jet black combat knife; it had a simple handle and grip with a small rectangular guard. The blade was as black as night while the sharpened edge glinted in contrast. Beyond that it looked like a regular knife, but once he took hold of it runic symbols lit up in a dim blue light along the length of the blade. Bell looked down at the weapon as Hestia's words ran through his mind when she first gave him the knife a few months after he joined her familia.

" _This is a weapon that was forged by my friend, Hephaestus, the Goddess of Smithing, she is known as the Divine Smith of Heaven and all her works directly forged by her hand have been known to be legendary in of themselves. This particular weapon I helped forged with a little bit of my own essence, it is a sentient weapon, it is alive and it will grow along with the strength of it's wielder. It will take awhile but, as you grow Bell-kun so too will this weapon. Treat it as your partner just as you treat me and I am sure it will help you in your adventure."_

The weapon had been a request Hestia made to Hephaestus, something made secret from him until gifted to him and, rightfully he was concerned about how much it took to make it. It took awhile until Hestia admitted it would take awhile for her to work off the amount she owed to her friend for making the weapon. At first, he wanted to give all the money he earned in return to pay off the debt but, Hestia readily refused saying it was her gift to him for all he did for her.

And so too not disrespect her wish he reluctantly accepted but, made sure to always check up on her when he wasn't in the dungeon. While he accepted her wish, it did not mean he wouldn't make sure she wasn't worked beyond her capability. However he was always assured by the Smithy Goddess herself that Hestia was doing fine, he knew of Hephaestus through Hestia and while she was serious and a hard working Goddess, the polar opposite of his own Goddess, she was still a close friend to Hestia and she always made sure she was well taken care of when he was gone in the Labyrinth.

Sighing, he sheathed the blade before strapping it on his lower back. Then he reached for the last two pieces of his equipment which was probably the last two most important pieces that kept his identity a secret. The first was a full body black cloak with a hood that covered his head, it was made to endure the extreme abnormal weather conditions of the lower floors of the Labyrinth. It was made through the hide and scales of a mature Dragon he'd found in the deeper levels of the dungeon, so it's durability wasn't to be questioned.

Once he put that on he picked up the last piece of his equipment which was in fact a mask, a plain white mask that he had picked up at a smithy shop in the Babel Tower above the Labyrinth. According to the smithy, it was made through specific materials that was made for the specific resistance of the elements and through battle. It filtered oxygen through the air in case of poison being released into the aitmosphere. But it's simple use was to conceal the user's identity from others unless the wearer removed the mask himself. Which was just perfect for him.

The design itself was pretty plain, it was mostly white with with two red vertical lines going down the eye holes and the grinning visage that made up the design. It oddly resembled a human skull's frontal visage but, it wasn't detrimental to him in anyway. It served it's purpose in more ways then one.

Taking hold of it, he channeled his power into the mask before placing it over his face. For a moment, he took in the sensation of the mask latching onto his face as if it had a mind of it's own. But once it was on he made sure the hood was covered his head, his crimson orbs adjusted to the slit eye holes of his mask. Taking extra measure to blink a few times, he turned his gaze onto the still slumbering Goddess and his gaze softened.

Bending he pat her head gently before covering her up, ''Have a good sleep, Hestia-sama.'' speaking his piece, the young adventurer turned away and crept off. Completely unaware of the fact that as he left, the woman's eyes creaked open before they looked over her shoulder. In contrast to the young man's crimson orbs, her orbs were like liquid sapphire that glinted with worry for the man that had left her.

''Off again...'' she let out a sigh, worry was etched her pained expression as she curled up into the lasting body heat left behind from the man that was her sole familia dependent. And the cause for which had stolen the one thing that was highly coveted in Heaven. The boy she saved 8 year's ago had turned into such a man had taken the one thing she valued just as much as she did her own innocence.

Bell was the one who held her heart in his hands.

" _I swear to Hestia, on my body and soul, until the day I die and even after the hands of the damnation takes me, I will forever be your sword that cuts down your enemies and your shield that will protect you from what you cannot defend against. You gave me a chance and for that compassion, you may use me however you wish. Call upon me and I will be there, Kami-sama."_

The vow he made to her had been the same day he swore to her that wherever she went, wherever she wanted to go, he would follow her. She was his light and he was her Hero, he would protect her where she could not and put down those that would seek to oppose and oppress her.

...He never ceased to amaze her at how he never stopped making her fall in love with him again and again.

Pulling the cover closer, Hestia snuggled into the body heat hoping on some small hope that it would last the night. It seemingly did as a moment later she fell fast asleep again with the lasting body heat from the young man of her affections accompanied her throughout the entire night.

 **OwO**

There was a certain method to dealing with the rising difficulty in the Labyrinth beneath Orario. Due to the vast, almost immeasurable number of floors of the dungeon, it was considered to be the sane choice that at the first few levels you could solo and pair up for the first few floors. However beyond the 13th floor it was best to be in a party of other well armed and experienced adventurer's, supporters and blacksmith's to take on the harder and much more difficult floors. To traverse the deeper floors took days worth of time and it wore on your health to venture on without a supporting hand or the well hand of a smithy to keep your equipment in check.

It was plainly suicidal to go so deep without a party in hand, it was an iron clad rule of the Guild that governed over the Dungeon and the Adventurer's affairs when concerning the massive Labyrinth. It wasn't persay illegal but, it was ill-advised to go any deeper without a party in hand unless you were just actively seeking death at every turn. The reason you may ask? Because the monster's inside not only grew more fierce and terrifying the deeper you went but, the more numerous they became. It isn't a lie to say a party would run into a horde of Minotaur's numbering in the hundred's or a Monster Parade consisting of a massive variety of different types of monster's.

Yet there were those rare few that were either foolishly brave or misconceived in their own strength to traverse the dungeon alone. And to date, on record, none had ever come back alive to survive traversing the Labyrinth solo. It was simply madness to do so without the party the size of one like the Loki Familia which garnered an entire _army_ of adventurer's, supporters and blacksmith's just to traverse the deeper levels.

Truly it was maddening to think of anyone remotely _thinking_ of doing something so monumentally stupid and insane!

Thankfully, Bell Ōtsutsuki fit that description perfectly.

 _ **''So, this is where you were hiding, Roku?''**_ the young man questioned as he walked upon a desolate labyrinth floor, it resembled a landscape similar to how one would picture Hell. A land of brimstone, fire, lava, molten rock and surprise surprise _more fire_. But the extreme heat didn't affect him thanks to his cloak absorbing most of the heat. That wasn't to say he wasn't a bit annoyed with watching for breaks in the ground since some were deceptively veiled lava pits.

He should know, he'd nearly fallen in on more then one occasion.

His words seemed to have affect as his crimson eyes looked upon one of the five volcanoes dotting the massive dungeon floor. And he cast his gaze upward to the top just in time as the ground beneath him began to quake. Tremor's began too burst forth from the volcano before him before cracks formed along the land causing showers of lava and molten rock to spew upward's into the air. But he paid it no mind as he watched the volcano erupt once before it began to break apart from _something_ crawling out of the earthen cavity.

Once a giant claw exploded out of the volcano the young man simply unsheathed his knife before twisting it into a reverse grip. The claw came slamming down as the volcano rumbled erratically before another claw punched through the outer rim. Once the second claw took hold of the land the creature inside pulled itself out of the molten core of the earth allowing itself to bask in the freedom since it's long rest.

The creature was in fact, a Dragon, but not just any Dragon it was one he had been searching for as it was one of the Elder Dragon's rumored to dwell in the lowest levels of the Labyrinth. It had the body of purely cooled molten rock with cracks of spewing lava forming the underbelly and throughout it's neck and face. It was a gargantuan of a beast, one whose very height darkened the landscape and it's wingspan spread out further casting a veil over the land. But the object that had his interest was the giant horn on the dragon's forehead.

It reared back it's head, it's molten orbs of liquid fire stared down at the intruder with a baleful glare that would have made any less of a man run in terror.

Then...then it _roared._

 **''RRRRRRRRAAAAGGGHHHHH!''**

For a moment, Bell was almost entirely certain the roar was powerful enough to have sent a small tremor toward even Orario but, from how deep he was, he was sure it was a small one. Regardless, he moved just in time as the resulting roar sent a shockwave that caused the ground to rupture into multiple geyser's of lava all around. Moving in a zig-zag formation, he jumped from one rock to the next before landing on a boulder in the air before jumping off it.

Propelling himself forward his turned his gaze toward the dragon as it fully escaped the volcano and only then did he pull out his knife. The wind seemed to beck at his command as it encompassed the length of his knife into a wind sharpened edge that only grew a few more feet in length. And as he came down on the dragon, his eyes changed, a rippled-like pattern began to form just before he clashed with the dragon.

And soon, the 69th floor of the Orario Labyrinth erupted into hellfire as the two entities clashed.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap, a prologue for what's in store and again this is just a mix-and mash up for a lot of my idea's into one so if it's mediocre then I apologize. It's just this anime allows for SO MUCH CROSSOVER POTENTIAL!**

 **Now I take my leave, if you have any questions send them in the form of a review or a PM but, I would mostly consider a review.**

 **...No seriously, I mean it, REVIEW DAMMIT!**


	2. Enter the Not so Rookie Adventurer

**Okay, firstly thank you all for the support! Also at the bottom of this chapter I've answered a couple of reviewer's questions regarding the story.**

 **Now a little warning this is, again, a Slight AU fic so I will not be entirely following the canon story to the letter. I've made a separate document of just idea's and the way I want this story to go and it's at least 10 pages so far and in the future it will diverge completely into my AU story plot. Till then however, I will be following the canon plot but, with my own twist.**

 **That said, I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Epic of Bell Ōtsutsuki**

Chapter 1: Enter the Not so Rookie Adventurer

 _'This has to be the most boring part of my job.'_

That was the thought of one particular guard that kept watch of the Gates leading down into the Labyrinth beneath Orario. He, like many that worked for the Guild which governed over the Labyrinth's affairs, was one of the few that instead of taking up a job for being a receptionist or working as an appraiser of magic stones or drop items from the monster's below instead chose another position. That being the Guild's Enforcer's, which was in reality glorified Guards that kept watch on those going in and out of the Labyrinth.

And the position _sucked royally._

No matter how much his colleagues tried to say it was a fine position, it just wasn't. There was no excitement to be had in being a glorified watchman. The only thing Guards really did was stand around day and night watching Adventurer's go in and out, it was more like you were a statue then anything else. Hell the majority of adventurer's didn't even go into the dungeon so late at night and usually just went in at the start of morning or during midday.

The _official_ duty of a Guard had a varied amount of duties: The first was to regulate adventurer's wanting to go into the Labyrinth. Making sure they had certified documentation to go inside before letting them on by. The second was to be a lookout on any adventurer's that were too obviously ill-equipped to go into the dungeon, and to save them from a early grave persuade them to go back. Or if there were any adventurer's to come out on death's door and get them medical attention as quickly as they could. The third and most important duty was to keep an eye on the entrance to the Labyrinth and be aware of any monster sightings which if there were they were to send an alarm straight back to the Guild HQ to warn them. But it just didn't happen since the Babel tower that was built ontop of the Labyrinth served as a means to keep watch on the monster's that could potentially escape and warn the combat Familia's in Orario.

To date there have only been a few monster's that have escaped, but they were either quickly destroyed before they spread into the city of Orario. Or those that did escape have stretched to the far corners of the world by now, and they were some of the most legendary ones in ancient history.

Still this did little to detract this particular guard's annoyance. It was reaching early morning and there had been no sign of an adventurer coming in and none coming out. Which left him to stand guard and just...stand there.

Doing nothing for _the entire night._

 _'I swear nothing ever exciting ever happens in this position, but I suppose it's better then dealing with those Soma familia nut jobs at HQ.'_ with that thought firmly in his mind, the guard stood there for a few more minutes just burning time away by looking up at the sky.

That is until the ground started to shake...

''W-what the fuck?!'' alarmed the guard stopped and stumbled as the ground beneath his feet quaked for a moment before stopping then it happened again. It was small quakes happening in second intervals, but it was enough to alarm the guard as he cast his gaze to where he heard the sound of the quakes coming from. It was as if goliath was walking toward him, but when he looked toward the entrance into the Labyrinth he was _stricken_ in place by what he saw coming out of the darkness.

It was a man, possibly a younger man by his physical stature to which he figured was around 5,10 though that was a rough estimate. His entire body was covered by a long tattered black cloak with a hood that covered his head, though strangely there were two pointed ends coming up from underneath the hood. Anything that was possibly underneath that cloak was well hidden to his eyes as the cloak just covered the entire upper and mid part of his body while it reached down to his ankles. The cloak itself seemed to have seen much better days as it was tattered and torn in specific places. It almost seemed like it had been through an inferno of sorts. But when the young man came out of the entrance the guard finally saw his face.

 _'By the Gods...it's him!'_

His body broke out in a cold sweat as his eyes looked upon the masked visage of what was possibly his worth nightmare come to life. It was a plain white mask resembling a human's skull with a grinning expression, the only detail on the mask was two red marks went down the sides of the mask. But then the guards eyes met the eyes behind the slit eye holes of the mask, and what greeted him was possibly the most terrifying pair of eyes he had ever seen.

It lasted only a second, but what he saw was two orbs that seemed to be like smoldering embers, darker then blood, but more unholy then even the eyes of a dragon. They were the eyes of something else, something beyond his understanding. They were the eyes of a demon, the eyes of a...a...

" _Diablo..."_ he muttered under his breath, the terror in his voice was thick as he watched the man walk past him without a second thought, and for a moment his eyes caught sight of what the man was carrying on his back. And if possible his nervousness evolved into a complete meltdown, the poor guard went into a nervous break down as he saw the reason as to why the ground was shaking under his feet.

Because the cloaked adventurer was carrying a giant dragon's horn 10 times his size, it was a monstrous thing, possibly as tall as one of the buildings in Orario. It curled upwards slightly, but the entire thing was jet black, a rare type of dragon's horn that only those of Elder Dragons or above had.

And the adventurer was carrying the monstrosity around as if it weighed absolutely _nothing_.

The poor guard wouldn't realize it until later that he had blacked out on the spot.

 **OwO**

''You never cease to amaze to me, you know that?'' spoke a rather seemingly normal old man garbed in fancy yellow and purple attire with a violet cape wrapped around his shoulders which was clipped together by a gold insignia that matched the Guild's Crest. He had long white hair and a wrinkled face that held a slightly appreciative expression. But contrary to his old appearance, his wise and sharp black orbs looked directly across into a pair of crimson orbs that radiated the same amount of power as the old man had in wisdom.

 _ **''I never fail a request no matter how difficult it may seem. I thought after all this time you would know this by now, Ouranos-san.''**_ what came out was a garbled voice of what would be a young man. But the mask muffled his voice into one that was deep and unrecognizable to most, but to the old man he knew all to well who the man behind the mask was.

Ouranos, God of the Sky and Head of the Guild situated in Orario, simply allowed a small quirk from the corner of his lips which was his way of smirking before it turned back into his ever present stoic expression. ''True enough.'' then his eyes trailed from the young man and to the dragon's horn between them which was infront of the Guild HQ. Letting out a small sigh, he took his hand and ran it over the length of giant bone object.

''Hm, impressive, from what I can feel from this the dragon you fought, the one called Roku was an older one of it's species. An elder from the colorization of the Horn no doubt about that, and from the small amount of heat still coming off it, I wager it was an Ember Dragon, been a long time since I've last seen one of those.'' the old God rambled on as he appraised the horn before giving a nod to himself while the masked adventurer stood by and watched silently.

Standing up he straightened himself out before turning his gaze on the cloaked young man. ''Very good, I'll have this further appraised and have Hephaestus come pick it up. I wager she'll be ecstatic to have this for her work. Now, as for the matter of your payment..'' he questioned though the man spoke up in regards to that.

 _ **''Just the usual old man, funnel the funds to my account."**_ he said causing the God to close his eyes before he shook his head in what seemed like exasperation. But he was used to this, the young man was always a stickler when it came to his money so he had the vast majority he saved up locked away in the Orario Bank in the deepest part of it's vaults.

''I see, well go on ahead and get some rest and once again a job well done, _Diablo.''_ he said with a small trickle of amusement, it was almost no-existent but it was there, the amusement he had played across his eyes as he watched the young man flinch at the name. But the adventurer remained silent as he turned around and walked away while Ouranos watched him go and as he vanished from his eyes, a figure melded out from the darkness by the wall behind Ouranos.

The God didn't flinch though as he addressed the black specter behind him with all the impassive expression he was known for. ''Anything to report?''

The entity of ebony shifted in it's posture before replying to him. _"She has made a few attempts to break the barrier around the young man, but so far my magic holds. She has learned nothing substantial so far, but it's only a matter of time until she breaks it. When it does it will be out of my hands."_ the creature responded causing the God to close his eyes before giving a small nod. Acknowledging the answer he was given as satisfactory before he gave a small hum of disinterest.

''Well, do not worry then. It's held for all these years and it was bound time for it to break so when it does the boy can deal with her shenanigans. My debt to Hestia was paid when I had you put in on the boy and when it runs out, it'll be up to him to deal with it.'' he said to which the shadowy humanoid tilted it's head slightly as if questioning it's master's words.

" _Not that I'm questioning his ability, but that woman is as sly as a fox and as dangerous as a snake, do you believe he can take care of her if the time comes?''_ the entity questioned causing Ouranos to raise an eyebrow before looking at the figure with an almost curious glint on his old eyes.

''The boy's had to live with that firecracker Hestia for 8 year's now. If he can keep her docile then that woman will be simple for him, but I'm more curious as to your interest in the subject. I didn't take you to be worried about the boy, Fels.'' the unasked question spoken from his lips was left unattended for a moment as the specter remained silent. That is until it finally found the right words to reply in kind to it's master.

" _It's not that I'm worried about him, he has proven his skill enough for me to actually wager he knows more about the Labyrinth then anyone on the lower world. I just find him interesting, Ouranos-sama, I'm sure you've felt it as well from dealing with him for so long. The kind of presence he gives off is too unnatural to be human or even apart of the other races, and his power has reached the point that it is well beyond our scope now. So, my lord, it's not that I'm worried about him but more to the fact I am interested in exactly what he is.''_ the figure stated causing the God frown before giving a small nod.

''I see, I understand now. But he has his secrets as do we all and I will not behave like the rest of my kind that's gone stir crazy over his existence. He's done nothing to scorn me and has proven worthy of one to have my utmost respect, besides it will prove unwise to cross him at this point now.'' he said as his eyes trailed toward the dragon horn beside him, as if that explained his reasoning and the figure upon seeing it only shifted it's head in acknowledgment.

 _''….That is most wise, Ouranos-sama.''_

 **OwO**

There was only three words that could describe what he was feeling like at the moment.

He was _exhausted..._

 _'Then again that's the risks of fighting an Elder Dragon alone and taking back it's horn all the way back up from the 69_ _th_ _floor.'_ he sighed for a moment as the exhaustion began to wear down on him.

The cloaked adventurer made his way back to the abandoned church in the outer districts of Orario and fumbled his way inside after making sure no one had followed him. His body was slump as he made his way forward before taking a right and opening the door to the right of the podium stand. It showed a staircase that led downwards, going down it he could feel the homey atmosphere of his and Hestia's home begin to encompass his worn out body.

Finally he made it to another door and opened it revealing his and Hestia's small like abode. It was spartan for the most part; consisting of a tall dresser to his left, a small chest situated to the right of the wall near the door, his worn out couch and a coffee table. And the queen sized bed at the left which was adjacent to the window to the right of the room. There was four candle stands that were left lit which made him see a sight that made him lighten up as he walked in.

 _'Beautiful.'_ that's all he could think to describe the beautiful female before his eyes, he looked upon his Goddess that lay asleep peacefully in bed. Hestia had the appearance of a teenager with such a small body, but the contradictory to that was robust bosom and wide hips which said otherwise. However, he saw a beauty that lay beyond the flesh of the body, what he saw every time he looked at the black haired blue eyed Goddess was a beautiful, innocent soul that he swore to protect till his dying breath.

He remembered that, it was a promise he made to her after half a year of being with Hestia. At that time, he had been a lost little boy with no other direction then to keep throwing himself into the Labyrinth in hopes he would get stronger. It was foolish and suicidal, but it was all he had at the time. Yet Hestia had come into his life shortly after and offered him a hand of support, a hand filled with all the compassion he hadn't expected from a complete stranger. Yet it had been enough to push away his sorrow and the darkness that feasted upon his mental state at the time. And for that, he couldn't repay which is why he swore to always be at her side whenever she needed it.

However he never expected himself to fall for her in the process...

 _'But I suppose I had fallen for her the moment I met her, she is the light within my soul.'_ he thought as he looked upon Hestia from the foot of the bed. His feelings for her were simple in theory, but the concept of a potential relationship between himself and Hestia, a _Goddess_ , had always weighed hard on his mind. It wasn't the fact that he was afraid if she denied him, he had long since accepted that potential outcome. And he certainly wasn't worried about the repercussions if it reached the other Gods ears. No he'd stand at her side and have his knife at their throats the moment they so much as threatened her safety.

No he was worried about his own feelings for not just her, but for others that had come into his life, for the few that had become more sparks of light that kept his soul alive. For the few friends he had made in Orario which he could count on just his two hands, a few he had come to gain similar feelings he had for Hestia, maybe not as strong, but they were there regardless.

 _'I guess that makes me more of a scumbag then anything else if I'm having feelings for more than one woman...'_ giving a sigh he kicked off his boots before he started removing his cloak and mask, his hair left unrestrained by his hood came down past his shoulders. It was the brightest white one would ever see, unlike the silver hair one would have as they grew older his was just pure white. In his youth it had a certain wave to it and it had reached his to neckline, but as he grew and with his career as an adventurer taking up the majority of his time he had just let it grow out. It now had a slight spike to it as fell around his shoulders in a spiky mess while at the top most of his hair remained straight. A few bangs fell around his red eyes while the rest covered his ears.

His face had lost most of the baby fat that once plagued him as a child and replacing it was a firm visage. A strong jawline matched with his sharp crimson red eyes. It was, in the words of his Goddess, the face of a heartbreaker not that he really understood what she meant by that. However the most unusual aspect of the young man was possible the most strange and his deepest secret.

He only needed to look in the mirror to see, coming out his skull and popping out from his hair was a dual pair of sharp crimson horns. Just seeing them made him frown as he reached up and felt the tip only to wince when he felt the tip pierce his flesh at the tiniest amount of pressure.

 _'They seemed to have grown last I checked.'_ he wasn't exactly proud of this change in his physical appearance as it only solidified his own opinion that he wasn't human. Hell, he wasn't even apart of the other races among the lower world because as far as he knew there was not race that grew out horns like this. It only made him feel more troubled as to what he was exactly, an unease that's been building up ever since his Grandfather helped unlock his natural born power so long ago.

Thankfully, he had a method to fixing this...

Moving his hands together, Bell let out a sigh before he bit his thumb before touching each of his fingers on his right hand before placing his palm over his chest, particularly over his heart. Then he let out a small word for the spell he had created to deal with this physical change in himself.

 _'Sealing sequence begin: 1st Gate locked, 2nd Gate locked, 3rd Gate locked, 4th Gate locked, 5th Gate locked, 6th gate locked, 7th Gate locked, 8th gate locked, 9th Gate locked, 10th Gate locked. Beginning seal matrix over the soul...Complete. Perfect sealing synchronization a success. Sealing process begin!'_ and before his eyes a dim blue light encompassed his body. It burned bright before it flickered and dimmed moments later revealing a severely changed Bell.

He had shrunk from his 5,10 height, now he stood at a 5,5. His shoulder-length white hair was now at his neckline and had the wave to it from his youth along his face having some baby fat, but not as much as he once did. But the most important change in his opinion was the horns were gone. Seeing that made him let out a sigh of relief, that was a technique he created in secret, even from Hestia. It manipulated the falna bestowed upon him by his Goddess; it acted as a chain seal which locked away the majority of his power and in the process the physical changes he underwent as he grew stronger.

Now he simply had the appearance of Bell Ōtsutsuki, the Rookie Adventurer most of Orario and his friends besides Hestia knew him as. Having the appearance of an unassuming young boy with little experience as an adventurer proved to be a great asset as it made the majority underestimate him. Well besides those few that could read underneath his actions or those even more rare few that knew his secret identity.

 _'Now time for bed...'_ stumbling around he ignored his couch as he simply didn't want to waste the extra effort to make those 3 small steps and simply fell into Hestia's bed and crawled into the other side of the headboard. Turning his body so he could see his Goddess, he wrapped his arms around her small body and pulled her close. Without thinking at this point, he laid his head atop hers and then, only then did he allow himself the luxury to close his eyes as he knew what awaited him was the ever present nightmare every time he fell asleep.

Thankfully, Hestia's warmth staved off the ever growing darkness, if only for a little bit.

 **OwO**

'' _...Bell-kuuuunnn~''_

The voice of an angel reverberated through his ears, calming him even more as he snuggled more into the mattress. His face melded into the pillow as his arms circled closer around the other warm pillow that was squirming around in his arms ever so slightly. Strange.

 _''Ah...mmm Beeelll-kun...wakey wakey~''_

Strangely, the voice reminded him of his Goddess, which began to prod him and yet he couldn't find the strength to move from his personal Heaven. Strangely, his warm pillow was squirming a bit more and to stop it from escaping he took of it with his left hand grabbing a firm hold of it's fluffy...soft...squishy substance? Wait a moment.

" _A-ah B-bell-kun! Aaahh Mmmm~''_

From the sound of moaning, Bell felt a cold sense of dread go down his spine and he prayed, he prayed to all the Gods and Goddesses that he wasn't doing what he thought he was doing. Finally he worked the courage to creak his eyes open only to see the face of Hestia with her eyes closed while her face was twisted in an odd expression of pleasure. Her breathing was labored and her whole face was flushed a dark crimson which only intensified Bell's own dread. Finally he felt for his hands only to see Hestia twitch as his left hand grasped hold of her left butt check felt only through the fabric of her panties. Then he felt for his right hand only for him to feel his fingers sink into her right breast.

Oh...

 _Oh..._

 _ **Oh no...**_

He made the mistake to try and retract his hands while his eyes traveled back to Hestia only to see her blue eyes staring into his red ones with an odd sense of disappointment, but more then that she was a bit flustered from his touchy feely episode. He froze as she finally worked her hands to grasp his face making him stare hard into her flustered red face and pouting blue eyes.

''You're gonna take responsibility for that, Bell-kun. You touched me in _so many_ ways that I was almost afraid you would ravage me in your sleep. Oh yes you're gonna take responsibility for this, _Bell-kuuuunnn~''_ she said in a sing-song of a voice which carried a hint of mischief. Then she closed in onto his face and gave a small kiss to his forehead, which lasted for a second longer then usual, before she pulled away allowing her to see a sight that made her calm exterior break into a fit of hysteria.

Bell's face resembled a tomato at this point from how crimson it was, his slacked jaw was moving up and down trying, _desperately trying_ to make words. But nothing came up, but the sheer embarrassment of what he did to his Goddess.

It was an awkward hour later for Bell before he and Hestia had made their way outside their humble little abode before they made their way into Orario. The Goddess skipped on happily whistling a jolly tune while Bell walked beside her with his face still buried in his hands. The embarrassment from before still very fresh in the young mans mind. It wasn't like he _didn't_ enjoy it because he did, some small part of his mind relished the feeling, but the majority of his mind was just burning in embarrassment from Hestia's words of what he did.

He hadn't been completely conscious of his actions at the time so he really wasn't sure of what he had done at the time which made the entire situation all the more troublesome for him!

''Alright, this is where we split, Bell-kun!'' Hestia's voice broke him from his state for a moment to which he looked at her and for a moment he took in her appearance. She had a part time job with her friend Hephaestus that she's been apart of ever since she helped the Goddess of smithing forge his weapon 8 year's ago. She was wearing brown dress shoes and white stockings that reached her thighs. A red and white uniform that Hephaestus made her wear to draw in more customers, and seeing as it reached a few inches below her waist he could see why. Her hair was as always tied up in two long twin-tails which were held together by her usual white and blue hair ornaments which had two bell like ornaments tied together with it also. Overall, despite her small stature, Hestia was still a beautiful young woman, one of the most beautiful he has ever seen.

But that didn't mean he would allow other men to look at her that way let alone touch her unless they wanted to lose their eyes and arms...and legs...and their penis, _just for good measure_.

Sighing, Bell finally pushed away his embarrassment from before and offered a smile to Hestia. ''Alright and remember don't work too hard okay?'' he said causing her to smile just a bit more before she took hold of his shoulders causing him to blink before she stood on her tip toes. Then she leaned in and kiss him on the cheek before back away with a small flush on her cheeks.

''You worry too much Bell-kun, now I'll see you later tonight!'' with a wave she ran off leaving Bell in the middle of the street with many civilians of Orario who had seen the interaction either smirking or just gushing at what they saw to be so cute, the females obviously.

Touching the spot where Hestia had kissed him he still felt the phantom sensation which caused a small smile of his own to form, then Bell took in a breath of fresh air before he turned around and with an extra step made way towards the Guild for his annual quest for the day.

This was how he supported himself and Hestia, which was through his double adventurous activities. In the day he worked as the Rookie Adventurer Bell that the majority of the Guild to come to know him as. He would go in the first few levels of the dungeon just to rake in magic stones and take on a quest for a specific item needed in those floors. While in the night, he took on his other persona and further explored the deeper floors of the Labyrinth on his own. Utilizing his skills to make himself stronger and cultivating the varies of Magic cores he gets from the monster's he kills.

Very rarely he took on quests when he went exploring the dungeon's deeper levels, the one he took the night before had been truly out of the kindness of his heart as he had a somewhat good friendship with Hephaestus even though she didn't know who he really was under the mask. She was a close friend of his Goddess, and one that he could trust to take care of her when he wasn't around. Well that and he knew she made equipment that was bar none, and he was interested to see what she could make with a material she hadn't handled before.

Finally, Bell came in sight of the Guild and he stopped to look himself over. As this persona in the day he took the appearance of any Rookie Adventurer that could barely afford the most modest of equipment. Which was why he wore simple attire consisting of: a black t-shirt that was tucked in, black pants with a brown leather belt around his waist, while the pant legs were tucked into his shin high light brown boots. Over this he wore a simple sandy brown leather jacket with a black diagonal stripe going down his right shoulder. The only unusual thing about him was the black knife sheathed on his left hip.

He didn't care if anyone questioned why he had such a fancy looking knife for a Rookie Adventurer, this had been a gift given to him by Hestia 8 year's ago and it had been his weapon of choice since that day. He'd sooner take his own life then to simply use another weapon just for conveniences sake.

''Alright every thing seems to be in order, time to go see Eina-san and see if there is quests on the board.'' with his mind set, Bell went on ahead however as he got closer he began to take notice of a large crowd building up around the Guild entrance. Being just a tad bit curious he got closer, and began to slip in unnoticed all the while he heard the crowd of adventurer's and civilians of Orario whispering in awe amongst themselves.

" _I can't believe it..."_

" _That's...is that what I think it is?!''_

" _He did it again...that maniac actually did it again!"_

" _To think he actually came here...with that thing over his shoulder. How the bloody hell strong is the guy!"_

Hearing the whispers made Bell became almost aware of the situation, but to fully sate it he got through the crowd to see what was so amazing and what he saw only made him internally slump his shoulders. Because before them was the very exact same horn he had ripped off the corpse of Roku last night and carried back up from the Labyrinth and into Orario. And from some of the comments the guard at the entrance must have seen him and spread the rumor into the city.

Great just what he needed, _more publicity_!

Although, Bell did smile amusingly when he saw Hephaestus, the Goddess of the Smith herself, hugging the giant horn with an almost lovestruck expression on her face. That woman sure loved her rare materials.

Finally he tore his gaze from the sight and began making his way to the quest board and once he found something pretty simple he took it off and made his way to the reception desk. There he found his one of his few rare friends in Orario and his personal adviser.

''Eina-chan!'' he called out as he came up to her desk and he watched as the half elf half human young woman jolted from her work and spun around to look at him. Her appearance was very beautiful in his own humble opinion, she had straight shoulder-length brown hair and emerald orbs that in the sunlight glinted like true emeralds. She had a slim, but mature physique of a growing woman with wide hips, long legs and a moderate sized bosom. She had a naturally born fair complexion that was just a tad darker then Hestia's own. She was dressed in the standard black and white Guild uniform for all employee's that worked inside the HQ, but it did nothing to detract her natural beauty to him.

However her expression was clearly worked as her glasses were slid down to the bridge of her nose and her hair was a tad bit frazzled, but over all Bell was left a bit speechless as he looked at her again.

Eina Tulle, age 19 was someone he'd known since he was 9 year's old, she was still learning to be a employee at the Guild at the time when he was adventuring. She became his first friend outside of Hestia and after awhile he hit it off with her despite her being 4 year's his senior in terms of age. Of course she knew nothing of his other persona and he preferred it to be kept that way for as long as possible, but outside of that she was made to be his personal adviser due to their close relationship with one another.

''Ah Bell-kun! Here for another quest again I see?'' she questioned eyeing the request paper in his hand to which he gave a small grin before handing it for her stamp of approval.

''Yup! The rewards nice and it'll help pay for some expenses that have been getting stressful as of late.'' he said which she nodded knowingly, she understood his plight as he was the only member of the Hestia Familia it fell on him to support himself and Hestia. While it was only the two of them, it was difficult for such a young adventurer like Bell to handle. Still he'd proven to hr he could handle the responsibility for the past few years which only made her respect for him grow.

And a well hidden admiration for his all his efforts, but that was besides the point.

''Hm, so it's for the Ganesha Familia. Collect 100 pounds of Kobold meat, I see it must be in preparation for the Monsterphilia this year.'' she said while giving it a stamp. Kobold's were low level species of monsters that resided in the first few floors of the dungeon. While weak they could be dangerous to new adventurers when in a pack, but Bell had proven to her long ago that he could handle himself very well in the first few upper floors.

At the mention of the Monsterphilia, Bell quirked an eyebrow, he knew of the festival but didn't see the interest in it. You only watched the tamers of the Ganesha Familia play a show for the crowd and tame _wild_ monsters in the stadium when in fact they were already beaten and trained in the dungeon beforehand. It was all a show, an act and he found no interest in such an act.

He killed monsters for a living, the only kind of monster he wanted to see was a dead one.

''Well here you go, and be safe out there Bell-kun, alright?'' she said giving him a hard stare as she handing him back his request paper. Now either under this persona or the other, he simply could not handle that expression she gave him. It was that kind of look that just knew you'd get in trouble regardless of being careful. It was a look that just showed how much she really knew him and she knew he could be quite reckless at times.

''Yeah I got it by the way before I leave, what's with all the ruckus? And why do you seem so overworked, Eina-chan?'' he questioned, while he didn't care all that much for the ruckus behind him he was worried about the health for the young woman. She was one his precious few friends he had in Orario and he'd be _damned_ to see her be worked to the bare bone like this.

Eina for her part gave him a weird look before letting out a sigh, leaning forward she put her face in her hands and just tore her gaze to the center of the room where Hephaestus was having members of her familia begin taking the giant dragon horn off. ''Well, it would seem the infamous _Diablo_ took in a special request for Hephaestus-sama made the night before and went off to complete it. It was said he returned early this morning with that monstrosity. '' she said pointing at the giant dragon horn the familia was struggling to get through the door let alone pick up.

''From what I know of the request, it was made specifically for him as it was made to kill an Elder Dragon, the third of the five strongest class types of the Dragons, if you didn't know Bell-kun. It was to attain an Elder's dragon horn which is said to immensely outweigh it's value in Vali as it's value for materials used in crafting is akin to being legendary in of itself. Though this is the first time I've seen one, I'm surprised it's not damaged the room from how much the thing must weigh.'' she said causing Bell to chuckle slightly, but due to his lack of interest he never saw Eina catch his slightly bored expression, but said nothing of it.

''Diablo-san just keeps doing the impossible, doesn't he?'' he said causing Eina to let out a laugh at that.

''That's putting it very _very_ mildly, Bell-kun!'' she said so sweetly to which Bell shook his head at, but still he took a moment to think on the name given to him, the alias he was branded with and was known by throughout Orario.

 _Diablo_ had been the name he was branded with by the Gods and Goddesses long ago when he first created his split persona when he turned 9. By that time he was growing far too powerful far to quickly for his own good. The Realis Phrase ability ultimately sped up his growth to dangerous degrees, enough so that he was worried he would attract the wrong attention, not for himself, but for those he cared for.

Namely Hestia and Eina at the time, but that list grew to a few others and because of that he underwent the persona change to protect them. Since then, he was branded under that alias because of his sudden rise to power and the amount of deeds he had accomplished during the start of his career. He was a sole existence that invaded the Labyrinth on his own and came out successful in exploring the most dangerous levels that to this day were now being officially explored by the Loki Familia. He was the one who provided roughly drawn maps of the deeper floors, the very same maps that the Loki Familia used in their monthly expeditions.

It was ironic really, he hadn't been branded that name until he had killed what was possibly one his most dangerous battles to date. He had nearly died that day and had the scars to prove it, he had been 9 year's old, and he had battled with the floor boss of the 59th floor. It was an ancient being, a Dragon, King class but one that had fallen from the grace of it's Dragon kind for eating the corpses of it's brethren to gather power so it could reach the domain of the Gods. The God of the Dragons, Bahamut, from the story had battled with the dragon and stripped it of it's scales and ripped it's lower body in half and sealed the upper half into the Labyrinth since the dragon refused to die even under such injuries.

For a moment Bell reached toward his abdomen where he felt a phantom pain thrum through his body while his eyes narrowed at where he thought went to.

 _'Seath...Seath the Scalelesss'_ he remembered that monstrosity, it nearly tore him in half and sent him tumbling to death's door more then a few times during the battle. Still he miraculously survived the encounter and ripped out the Dragon's cold corrupted heart from its corpse and brought it back as a trophy. That had been the day, from what he heard from Hestia, the God's and Goddesses held an immediate meeting to discuss what he had done. Cause he had essentially done what no other Adventurer had ever done before. He had essentially killed what a God could not and that was not something you couldn't ignore.

That was the day he was given the one alias he didn't expect to be put under, he aspired to be a Hero to those he called his friends, but that day he was ironically named Diablo, the castillian word for the God's greatest enemy.

The _Devil_.

 _Oh the irony still hurt to this very day._

Because of that, Bell held suspicions for the other deities, they had to be suspicious of him to name him the one thing that the God's themselves abhorred as the greatest enemy against a deity. However, what came next was the infamy that was his reputation as Diablo, he essentially became a living legend talked about amongst other Adventurer's. A made up story for parents to tell their children about at night, of his overly dramatized battle with Seath for one. He essentially became something akin to what most adventurer's aimed to become.

A Legend, one whose name was etched into the history books and would be remembered for centuries to come.

Thing was, he didn't care about that.

He was interested in one thing and that was to become a Hero to those that accepted him, to his friends that cared for him, that loved him for who he was. His original dream to be a Hero to the world was long since abolished by his own foolishness and in it's place, he dreamed to become a Hero to those of his friends. If he could keep them safe, then that was all that really mattered to him because they in turn were the ones who saved him, from _himself_.

Shaking his head from his thoughts, he looked at Eina who was eyeing him weirdly for a moment and he soon let out a chuckle. ''Sorry, I got caught up in my thoughts, anyway why do you look so overworked?'' he asked to which the half-breed let out another sigh.

''It's just the Soma Familia, they've been getting rowdy as a late, more then usual and they've been pressuring the Guild for sometime now. They've been hounding our appraisers and calling the Guild all sorts of insults and while that's not all that concerning there have been reports of them harassing our employee's! I swear sometimes I just want to smash them upside the head!'' she said slamming her hand into the desk which to his slight surprise made it crack all the way down the middle, take notice the desk was made of pure refined _granite_.

Gulping, Bell took notice Eina's expression and his face softened, but inwardly he scowled as he thought about ways to help her with the situation.

 _'I can't outright kill any Soma familia members, that's just needless and mostly unwanted attention, but I can't let them keep harassing Eina. Maybe I should speak to Hestia about them, but for now.'_ thinking to himself, bell nodded before he took hold of Eina's hands in his own. The action caused to blink in surprise before she looked up to see his beautiful crimson eyes staring back at her with a enthusiasm.

''Eina, go out with me.'' he said, blunt and to the point causing her blink, then twice...three times...and a fourth for good measure.

Then her face erupted into such a beautiful shade of crimson that nearby workers were afraid her head would combust from the sheer heat coming off her face. Her mouth turned into a shake smile as she repeated Bell's words again and again inside her head trying in someway to find out why of all things Bell would say _that_ to her. Not that she was against going on a date with him or anything! It was just...

''B-but Bell-kun what about our age gap a-and would you r-r-really want to go out with s-someone like me. I-I mean you have Hestia-sama and-and!'' the poor woman stammered as Bell just tilted his head to the side, not exactly realizing what she implying, but spoke anyway.

''I don't see how our age has anything to do with this, I've known you for quite sometime and I know you're an incredible woman and a good person at heart. Hestia may seem ill-tempered, but she recognizes you as one of my friends so she doesn't mind.'' he explained, but to the poor woman's mind it only increased her misunderstanding of the entire situation at hand. Her blush darkened to such a degree that Bell was beginning to worry for her health.

''B-b-b-but...I-I-I-I...Y-y-y-you...ah...ahh...aaaahh~'' she lost it, she fainted dead into Bell's arms causing the poor young man to straight out panic.

''Ah! Eina-chan! Are you alright! Crap crap crap, are you okay?!'' he asked but she remained unresponsive, but thankfully another one of the staff came up to him.

''Give her to me Bell-san, I'll be sure she gets taken care of. '' hearing this Bell looked to see it was another young woman that was around Eina's age. She had pink hair and pink eyes and wore the same uniform as Eina. Then his eyes lit up with recognition as he realized who the woman was and he sighed in relief as he put Eina in the woman's arms.

''Thanks a bunch, Misha, and would you mind telling her that I just wanted to see if she would meet me at the Hostess of Fertility tonight? She needs some rest, and I'd like to buy her dinner you see.'' he said causing Misha's eyes to widen briefly before she let out a small chuckle, amusement dancing across her eyes as she peered down at the face of her friend. Realizing that Eina had completely misunderstood what Bell's was going to say.

Oh she was going to tease the hell out of her after this!

Smiling at the white haired young man that was Eina's very _very_ close friend, _that was a boy_ , who was most certainly not in Eina's exact words her _boyfriend_ , he was just her friend...that was a boy. The thought alone made Misha internally giggle before she gave him an affirmative nod.

''No worries, you can count on me!'' she said with a grin causing Bell to sigh in relief and with another thank you he high-tailed it out of there.

Time to get the daily request done!

Something simple, surely nothing surprising would arise from this...right?

 _Don't count on it..._

* * *

 **Super tired, got this chapter done in one day as I'll be starting my new job in a couple of day's which will cut into my time. I'll work on editing the chapter tomorrow when I wake up so forgive me if I messed up in a few places.**

 **Yes, I changed Bell's hair to resemble a mix-mash of a young Madara Uchiha's hair with a twist of his original hair style. But when sealed, he has his canon appearance.**

 **Give me your delicious reviews, they sate my hunger otherwise I'll starve and go for the alternative which is human flesh!**

… **.Yeah I need some sleep...now...Hope you all enjoyed this!**

 **Now to answer reviewer's questions!**

shariusbiology: **Sorry, but no I've already got Bell's heritage all figured out.**

zdeath01: **Who knows what he's learned or what he knows. Tis a mystery ye must solve!**

Crofty666: **I agree, I don't see the use for OC's unless you can flesh out their character enough to make them actually interesting. As for the setup I've got going on for Bell, it's kinda complicated, but if I were to try and explain it would spoil far too much so I'll just say to read the chapters and figure it out as you go along. Thanks for enjoying the work though!**

 **Now time for BED!**

 **REVIEWSZZZZZ PLZZZ!**


	3. The Eclipsing Shadow

**First off, and I know it's customary among authors, but I'd like to say thank you all for the support. Again, this manga/anime is very interesting to me and I want to see more fics and crossovers for it in the future. So if this helps further that, then I'll work myself bare bone to make it happen. So again, thank you all!**

 **Now I've started my new job at Dunkin Donuts, all the coffee I could ever wish for! Mmmm coffee, God's greatest gift to mankind...well besides women that is, nothing tops them. Ever.**

 **NOW for all you beautiful sexy reader's! Because of all the support I've got some new idea's to try out in this chapter and the few to come. Plus my job really helps me clear up my head.**

 **Oh well, let's get started shall we?**

 **Onward!**

* * *

 **The Epic of Bell** **Ōtsutsuki**

Chapter 2: Eclipsing Shadow

Some times, it was never a really good idea to tempt fate because in all likelihood Fate, being the mean bitch that she was, would strike back with all the fury of a thousand suns. And sometimes it would be at the most random of times in the day.

And for one white haired, crimson eyed, 15 year old adventurer, this could not have been more true as his current situation was the exemplar of that type of scenario.

 _'Karma's a bitch...'_

His thoughts ran along the lines of his frustration. Bell Ōtsutsuki knew for a simple fact that the current predicament that he was in had been all because of his own acts of tempting, slapping and figuratively doing all he could to piss Fate off. All his 8 year's of exploring and training alone in the Labyrinth in Orario, the most dangerous place in the known world mind you, had finally caught up to him in this one simple act of what was supposed to be an easy request.

Collect 100 pounds of Kobold meat, he got it completed, and had the sack of meat conveniently held in one of his more unique abilities. Because he surely couldn't be running around with a giant sack of meat while running away from a rampaging, bloodthirsty horde of Minotaur's now could he?

Not so much...

 **''RAAAGGH!''** the roar of maybe ten or twenty minotaur's, a rough estimate really, was barreling after him. No doubt all of them wielding some form of weapon formed from the very environment of the Labyrinth itself. Seeing as the very thing, from his personal experience, was alive in of itself, truly he expected nothing less from the _Mother of all the Monsters_ would equip it's children with whatever weapons they needed. A name bestowed upon the Labyrinth by the Gods themselves seeing as the thing was just a giant womb to bring the creatures to life in the first place.

He should know, exploring the labyrinth for 8 year's by himself had allowed him to see the secrets of the labyrinth that most adventurer's would never realize in their lifetime. He had seen the birth of many monsters, some small and some monumentally gigantic. The labyrinth was a mother, and in theory, wanted to protect it's children which was why it armed it's spawns with whatever they needed to kill those that intruded inside.

And the children themselves were instinctively aware of their goal, some more so then others. However that wasn't the same for those that had grown far more powerful then they were originally intended, if they became more sentient then they were bound to be far more dangerous then most of their brethren. But most monsters knew where they should reside, the strong dwelled only in the lower levels of the weaker ones would reside at the top floors.

That's how it should be. How it was _meant_ to be.

 _'But no, they had to go and fuck it up didn't they?'_ Bell's thoughts were the mirrored expression of his annoyance as he ran from the Minotaur's chasing him down all around the 6th floor of the Labyrinth. Now one may wonder as to who Bell was referring to, and it could only be explained in three words. Three words that only brought him annoyance as he kept the Minotaurs on his tail, and _away_ from the other rookie adventurer's fleeing from this floor so they wouldn't be crushed by the rampaging group of monsters.

 _The Loki Familia_

He knew them, they were one of the higher echelon of Exploration and Combat familia's residing in Orario. They were highly praised for their deed's in the Labyrinth, and the one familia to have completed the most requests for the Guild. They brought back enough magic stones and rare items dropped from the monster's to bring in more merchants for Orario and in turn make it flourish even more economically. However, unofficially their Captain, Finn Deimne, was the one to have purchased his maps of the deeper levels so it would lower the risk of their future expeditions.

He was a good man, apart of the declining Pallum race, but still a good sort Bell would admit, he'd seen him only a few times, but never actually spoke with him as either persona. However, from just seeing him from the crowd he could tell the Captain of the Loki Familia was a very levelheaded and mature person, and one he could respect as an adventurer.

The same, however, could not be said for his subordinates, the very same who _caused_ this mess in the first place.

Now one may wonder as to how Bell knew this particular detail, and that was because he knew the familia had made an expedition at the beginning of this month, and were due to return any day by then. It was always a big topic that was spoken about amongst the lower level adventurer's and it served as a means for him to be on the lookout when delving into the labyrinth as his other persona. And while he didn't know Finn's subordinates personally, he knew of them and their reckless behavior at times.

How he knew that was very simple...

5 Year's ago when he was 10 year's old he had been returning from the 66th floor only to stop when he reached the 35th floor. He had come across the Loki Familia, recognizing their banners, only to see them being surrounded by a Monster Parade that the Labyrinth spawned onto them. It had been the first time he came across them, but to protect his identity and help them in some way he utilized one of his abnormal techniques that couldn't be recorded by Hestia's Grace. It was powerful enough to shift the tide and help them crush the remaining monsters.

And under the cover of the smoke and confusion he remembered fleeing, but that's where his memory got fuzzy, as if something was there, but he just couldn't remember.

 _'One would think they would have learned to be more cautious since 5 year's ago, but their latest recruits don't seemed to have learned that lesson as of yet.'_ Bell thought to himself as turned a corner only to grimace as he saw _another_ adventurer strewn on the ground ahead of him, _dead,_ and at the feet of a stray minotaur. Scowling deeply, he channeled his chakra throughout his legs and arms, temporarily boosting his power. Moving faster he brandished his knife, then jumping to the wall of his left then right and then left he jumped toward the monster. Coming upon it's head he came down in the blink of an eye, his knife piercing the minotaur's skull like it was wet paper.

As the body dispersed into black dust, Bell stopped even as the Minotaur's behind him came closer. He just knelt down at the corpse of another adventure that was killed by the Minotaur's rampaging throughout the 6th floor. His red eyes gleamed in the darkness as his annoyance turned into anger as he looked upon another casualty of reckless behavior. It was one of the few he had come across too late and were caught unawares by the monster's coming up from the lower levels. They were the unlucky few he couldn't save, and for each one only increased his anger for the monster's that killed them and the familia that caused this.

 _'They're gonna pay for this...'_ taking his hand he moved it down the terrified face of the latest dead adventurer. It was a young girl, a little one possibly 13 or 12 by her appearance, and her face was struck in a state of pure terror as her body was bisected by the minotaur from before. Closing her eyes forever from the world, Bell's own crimson orbs looked ahead to see the dead end awaiting him, and felt the minotaurs closing in on him.

 _Another one was dead_ , and such a young girl at that, and all because the Loki Familia didn't get rid of the Minotaur's in time and let them escape into the upper floors.

It was always expected for adventurer's to always be in danger the moment they set foot in the labyrinth, it was apart of their career to always risk death. That couldn't be argued, and no self-respecting adventurer would try to argue that fact. But it was different for rookie adventurer's that just started their career, they were just adjusting to the first few floors and had no idea of the dramatic shift of difficulty and quantity of monster's past the 13th floor. They had no idea and thus were unprepared when a group of minotaurs came up emerging from the lower levels and start slaughtering them like cattle.

The difference in levels was just that huge...

The white haired young man finally stood up, and behind his bangs Bell's crimson eyes _flared_.

 _'They won't be getting off scot-free for letting this happen, but first...'_

He felt them, their footsteps had slowed, but were more cautious and steady as they approached him, cornering him in the dead end. Their earlier rage tempered at seeing there target kill one of their brethren in one swipe. Yet they still approached, their shuffling hoofs stamping among the dirt, their breathing impatient and their bloodthirst was almost _, almost_ thick enough to suffocate anyone focused upon by them.

Unfortunately, that meant nothing to the white haired young man before them. His anger towards them and those that caused this incident would have made their bloodthirst pale in comparison. However, that anger soon _calmed_ as Bell let out a breath and before their eyes he turned to look over his shoulder, his eyes _smoldering_.

And then, only then, did the minotaur's instinctively realize that it wasn't the young man that was cornered by them, but it was _they_ who was cornered by something that couldn't be called _human._ The crimson eyes of their target were _flaring,_ glowing a baleful maroon that was completely unfit to be in the eyes of a human being.

They stopped, they _froze_ as their hearts completely stopped beating, their lungs constricted, their bodies _halted_ as their very soul froze in petrified terror as those eyes fell upon them with all the coldness fit for something that was above them in terms of being a monster. Before those eyes, they were the prey, they were children, _they were the ants_ before the predator. They could do nothing as an oppressive pressure fell upon their shoulders causing their knee's to buckle and their instinctual driven desires to go wild. Yelling, screaming, roaring with all the desire to just _live_ , too just flee.

 _Flee from this monstrosity!_

 _'Enough is enough, no more will die here! This is as far as I'll let this continue!'_ and with a brief flash, Bell's eyes narrowed into smoldering embers while he changed the grip of his knife into a reverse grip. With the blade gleaming, wind beckoned at his unspoken command, molding and shaping along the length of his blade, forming a blade of wind stretching out from the original blade.

Then... _then Bell attacked._

And then the minotaur's knew how much of a mistake they made...

 **OwO**

 _Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Go! Go! Go! Faster! Faster! Faster!_

A wind sped fast all over the 6th floor of the Orario Labyrinth, the force and velocity of the wind could be considered to be at the level of a tornado as it sped all over. Slaying every minotaur in it's intended path, and those left behind were crushed by a just as fast gray blur. The wind sung sharply as the streaked across the halls and chambers killing every minotaur or monster it came across.

However in that windstream of sharp blades and singing gusts of wind, there was a blur of gold that flew with the speed of a fairy. Its long streaks of bright gold mixed in with the turbulent winds made it out to be both breathtakingly beautiful and dangerous to anyone caught in its path. There was no hesitation as it flew, its golden streaks left only monster's exploding into black mist as it covered the 6th floor in speed nigh unmatched by most.

 _Faster! Faster! Faster! I need to go FASTER!_

That mantra was repeated within the mind of the one whom commanded this stream of wind, and the element seemed to beck at her unspoken plea as it sped up even faster. Increasing her velocity more and more until she was more then a blur, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Killing everything in it's path until...

 _''AIZ! Hold on a second!"_

 _Suddenly, the wind stopped..._

Abruptly, the wind halted and unfurled upon itself, with the velocity and speed still in due process it slammed against the walls of the Labyrinth causing it to crack as it all at once dispersed. Once it did, unveiled within that once speeding bullet of golden wind was something one would not at first expect to be the cause of that unnatural phenomena.

Long golden hair flared to the side whilst equally majestic golden eyes gleamed within a barely noticeable amount of annoyance, not at the source of the voice, but of the situation at hand. It was a young woman, a very _beautiful_ woman with a healthy pale complexion and a slender body, but having a toned physique that spoke of equal measure in immense speed, power and flexibility. The woman wore an attire that was reminiscent to a Knight's however it consisted of only a metal headband, a chest plate that covered only her shoulders, arms, and upper chest. She had brown leather gloves beneath her armored sleeves, two metal plates protecting her wide hips and metal leg-plates. Beyond that she wore a blue and blackless outfit that reached barely past her waistline and which covered the underside of her right breast.

And held firmly in her right hand was her personal sword of choice, it was of a peculiar design with a metallic crooked shaped pommel and black leather wrapped handle and a thick rectangular guard. Strangely coming from the guard and along a quarter length of the blade was another piece of metal that was bent at 90 degree's where at the end had an arrow pointing straight up the blades length. The blade itself was about 4 foot in length and was double-edged.

The young woman was in fact one of the key members of the Loki Familia, one of their strongest and one of the strongest official adventurer's sanctioned by the Council of the God's and Goddesses. This young woman was named Aiz Wallenstein, the highly praised _Sword Princess_ that was highly admired amongst Orario for both her beauty and skill. Her long golden hair and eyes that were like liquid gold set her apart from most others and made her the envy of many women and the target for many males advances.

Yet she held no interest in either, she had a much more desirable goal and the only way she would reach that goal was to put herself through what's been doing for the past 5 year's. Throwing herself into combat to make herself strong, stronger then anyone imaginable. So strong she would reach the precipice that even the God's were wary of. The very same precipice that her goal, her desire stood upon.

Turning her gaze onto her fellow familia member Aiz tilted her head to the side in what was almost innocent curiosity or bewilderment.

''Why did you tell me to stop, Bete?'' she questioned in what was almost a demand, but none could really blame that from her tone of voice seeing as the situation they were in was very dire.

Bete Loga, apart of the Loki Famillia stopped by her to catch his breath. He was a young man appearing around 17 or 18 with light gray shaggy hair which had a pair of dog ear's popped up from the messy hair. He had a tanned complexion with a jagged purple tribal mark going down the underside of his left eye, and his amber eyes were narrowed in both annoyance and apprehension. He had a black choker around his neck, a gray jacket with a white fur collar and black pants that went down to his ankles which was wrapped by a tan leather belt. He also had on a pair of pure white forearm protectors that went all the way up to his elbows and mithril boots that gleamed in the dark labyrinth.

Bete scowled as he caught his breath before he spoke, ''Be careful, I know we didn't get them all and Tione and Tiona already found a few more...corpses.'' he frowned at that, to which Aiz's eyes narrowed in a rare flash of anger, at herself which was shared by the man.

This was their mistake, one caused by their own arrogance and ignorance of the situation prior. Their expedition was traveling back up from the lower levels only when they came to the 17th floor they came upon a massive group of Minotaur's coming toward, and in a swell of arrogance and pride, they held back most of their power when dealing with the minotaurs, just to release some steam yet this caused them to escape to the upper floors. A mistake they tried to stop, but in the end they all saw the consequences of their actions each time they went up a floor.

Dead adventurer's caught off guard or those that were simply unable to fight the minotaurs and were systematically ripped apart by the rampaging monsters. They were reminded of that consequence every time they saw the bodies and for each death, the weight of their actions weighed heavily upon each of their shoulders.

Aiz eyed her fellow teammate before she shifted her gaze toward another hallway.

''I know, but there is still more, I can feel it in the wind. They are...close and if we can get rid of them now we can avoid more casualties.'' she said, which caused Bete's scowl to lessen if only to a degree. He knew of her only magical ability, the _Tempest_ _Ariel,_ an ability that allowed her to manipulate the wind into a rushing gale around her body and sword, granting her an armor of wind that allows for her to attain extremely high speeds and anything that comes into contact with it would be cut apart at the very seems.

However it also granted her a passive susceptible level to feel the wind around her, to feel it and any changes or shift in the wind. Which has alerted her and the familia to surprise attacks on more than one occasion.

''I see, but still while the minotaur's are a problem I can't help but feel something's wrong.'' he said, his sensitive nose twitching to the peculiar scent around him. His ear's twitched ever so slightly while Aiz looked at him with a tilt of her head.

''What do you mean? What do you sense Bete?'' she asked which made the half man-half dog grit his teeth as his amber eyes narrowed even more as his senses flared up. His overly sensitive senses allowed him to feel any abnormalities in the world then most others, and right now he felt something was off. _Very off._ The goosebumps that were crawling upwards from his legs and arms and the the cold chill of dread that was going up his spine only furthered this fact.

''I-I don't know! The air...it feels heavy, but it's more then that...there's something wrong here Aiz! Something is here... _something dangerous...''_ he whispered, but Aiz caught in, but just as she was about to respond.

She suddenly felt what Bete was worried about only now it made itself apparent throughout the 6th floor.

 _Suuuuuuuhhhh~!_

The wind _screamed_ with a fear that was both unholy and yet terrifying enough to cause Aiz's soul to freeze.

Golden and amber eyes alike both widened as all of a sudden an immense weight fell upon them, crashing down upon their shoulders, it caused their knee's to buckle under the strain. But then came the _anger_ , the anger that followed flooded the labyrinth like a tsunami, it came down upon them. The anger was immeasurable, it was thick and heavy, making it hard to breathe for the two, sweat poured from their heads as they tried in vain to even remotely move their bodies beneath the magnitude of the pressure and anger falling upon them.

''W-w-what is...this?!'' Bete grunted out as used all his power to just himself standing while Aiz on the other hand was having an almost equally amount of trouble standing. Yet she pushed herself up even as the alarms in her head rung loud and true, for the third time in her life Aiz felt that cold chill of dread wash over her body. A familiar chill that froze her soul and made her instinctively aware that she was beyond any hope of salvation.

 _She knew this presence!_

Her eyes widened exceptionally as her body became accustomed to the pressure and the anger that washed over her, her golden eyes slowly closed as she took hold of this feeling, holding it in her hands before pulling it close. To which her minds eye flashed to a memory long lost from the depths of her mind.

 _Monster's surrounded her small frame, her fellow adventurer's torn apart piece by bloody piece._

 _She was cornered, her body bloody and injured, the color of crimson, her blood was smudged in her normally bright gold hair. Her equally gold eyes wide in petrified terror as the monsters closed in._

 _Then as the monster's made to consume her, in a flash of swirling wind and white hot burning flames, a cloaked young man came down slaughtering everything in his path. Monster's easily obliterated and reduced to ashes before her eyes._

 _And the form of the black cloaked individual kneeling before her, his presence was warm yet equally terrifying. His masked visage sending her a visage that tormented her for weeks to come, but beneath that mask she saw what took hold of her terrified soul and protected her from what was surely to be her demise._

 _Warm crimson orbs stared into her golden eyes, for what was like hours, days, weeks, months, years when it was only a short few seconds. Yet in that small time frame she felt the presence of her savior, when she looked into his eyes his warm, comforting atmosphere figuratively wrapped around her body like a blanket that would have protected her from even the harshest of times._

 _A comforting leather gloved hand ruffled her blonde hair sent waves of warmth coursing through her body, easing her state of terror and calming her fear as she looked upon his cloaked and masked appearance. In that moment, even as he disappeared before her very eyes, even as he faded from her eyes in nothing more then a blur of motion. His eyes of the purest crimson was held steadfast in the very deepest part of her mind, the eyes of the one who saved her life. She would remember those eyes for the rest of her life as his words drifted away as he vanished amongst the confusion._

" _ **You're safe now."**_

Her eyes snapped open in shock before Aiz stood up completely surprising Bete before she activated her ability to pick up speed before she flew down, ignorant of the worried shouts of Bete behind her. Everything in her mind was blocked out, nothing mattered to the blonde as she sped toward the source of where she felt the presence. Desperation built up from year's of searching fueled her body, repelling the instinctive fear her body felt from the pressure and anger that washed over her.

For her soul swelled in bliss for the anticipation of seeing him again.

It mattered little too her for she could feel it, beneath that pressure, beneath that anger, she could _feel_ his presence again after so long. That warm atmosphere of the young adventurer who saved her 5 year's ago from certain death. The very same whose existence was legendary among Orario and even in the known world. The very same man who granted her the solace in which she always wanted to experience as a child, but could never receive until 5 year's ago. The one thing her mother had in her father, something she cherished and wanted to feel for herself.

 _A Hero._

 _'He's here...the one I've been searching for! I wouldn't mistake that presence for anyone else!'_ her thoughts were rampant as she thought about him. He had saved her from certain death, he had become what her father was too her mother, he came down from like the fairy tales her mother used to read to her all the time and he saved her like a Knight would a Princess. But unlike in the stories, he never stayed and vanished from her eyes before her familia found her.

Yet there was a certain abnormality as her Hero was the very same man who was infamous amongst the God's and Goddesses, the very same man whose name was spoken of in both reverence and fear. The man who went under the alias that was placed upon him by the deities from their own caution of him. Her Hero, the one she sought day after day whenever she could, despite the thinly veiled attempts by her familia to discontinue her search, was in fact the very same name that was the eternal enemy of the Gods in ancient times.

Her Hero was...

 _'Diablo!'_ a small smile crossed her features as her body went on autopilot, following after the presence with all the drive she's built up since 5 year's ago. She could feel it, closer and closer it came and the more she closed in the more her smile grew. Her long hair billowed behind her as her eyes caught upon a four way crossing, but the presence she felt was near. So close that...

 _'The left!'_ speeding closer Aiz Wallenstein sped towards the corner to turn on the left, excitement fueled her slender body as she would finally come face to face with her savior after so long. To finally see him after 5 long year's apart, to hopefully hear the words she's wanted to hear from him the moment she set her path to become as strong as she was today.

But that reality _shattered_ as she turned the corner and stopped dead on her feet, her eyes widened as the pressure and the anger completely evaporated around her. And what replaced it was a cold atmosphere that saturated the entire 6th floor to the point it brought goosebumps throughout her body. Golden eyes widened slowly as she fully came back to her senses enough to realize their was someone walking past her, the footsteps were light, almost undetectable, but they were there regardless.

Slowly, she turned her head to the side, casting her gaze to the right of her body just in time to see something that made her let out a small gasp of surprise. Golden eyes widened more and more as she looked upon a sight that would paint a picture as to what she could describe as being ethereal, divine and yet so _cold_ in almost every way imaginable. No one, not even her Goddess Loki, gave off such an atmosphere as she looked upon the appearance of the one who stood beside her.

The purest of white hair shined brightly amongst the dark cavern's of the labyrinth. It was wavy in a sense, but it's stark white shade lit up the darkness. Then she took a second to look upon the body of the one who was there, it was a young man that was an inch or two smaller then her. He had low-budget equipment on his body, but a strangely her mind were drawn to the most important aspect of the person before her.

It was his eyes, and then she realized for an almost imperceptible second, that the eyes of the young man were boring straight into her own. Then the world froze around her as gold met a pair of royal crimson that glowed with a deep inner maroon. Her body shook from the unbidden waves of shock that crashed into every part of her body as she looked into those eyes. Eyes she hadn't forgotten and kept within the depths of her mind. Those were the eyes she remembered, those were _his_ eyes, the eyes of her savior!

'' _D-Diablo...?_ '' her soft spoken inquiry pierced the cold atmosphere coming off the young man beside her who, for a fraction of a second, narrowed his glowing crimson eyes before he stared deeper into her golden orbs before they widened by a margin. But that too vanished into an impassive stare that would have frozen anything if he so wished it. Instead, Aiz felt a sudden shift, before those beautiful crimson eyes _shifted_. They morphed as 3 intricate patterns stretched and made themselves known, but before she could fully realize the unique pattern in those eyes she heard only one word before her world succumbed to darkness.

" _Sleep."_

 **OwO**

Bell watched impassively as the young woman before him stilled once he spoke before her golden eyes grew hazy before she started to fall. Her body sagged and she stumbled before he caught her so she didn't fall, gently he laid her against the wall. And for a small moment he just stared at the young woman before him with an impassive expression. Then he just closed his eyes, cutting off the chakra to his eyes before he placed his hand on her head and ruffled her gold hair in a slow, but comforting gesture.

Letting go, he turned around and walked away as he felt the other presence quickly coming to his location, and he made his way out with the minotaur threat secured. But as he walked away he allowed himself to give a small smile that was masked in the darkness. A chuckle escaped him before he spoke to seemingly himself as a memory from 5 year's ago flashed before the forefront of his mind. The memory he had long forgotten, of the girl he saved 5 year's ago, of the face of the young girl who stared at him that day with both fear and awe that day. Her golden eyes pierced into his soul that day, and left him with a mark he's carried to this very day.

His smile grew as he walked on further before his body disappeared into the darkness, but as Bell disappeared his words were carried on along the air before traveling to the unconscious blonde woman.

" _You've grown up to be very beautiful and very strong, little angel."_

However unknown to even Bell at that time, he never saw the small smile form on Aiz's angelic features, her eyes creaked open ever so slightly only to watch his back as he left her. However, this time she couldn't find it in herself to be disappointed as this time she had seen him, that was _him_ , there was no doubt in her mind now. That had been her savior, that had been the man who saved her life as a child.

That was her hero!

Finally, a picture of the man who was the epitome of her desires was painted in her mind's eye. Those crimson orbs that she dreamed of finally had a face that belonged with it, even if that face was one of a young man who appeared to be younger then her didn't deter Aiz in the slightest. Falling back to sleep peacefully, Aiz allowed a her smile to grow as she had one last fleeting thought before she fell back under the sway of Bell's spell.

 _'His shadow...it's as eclipsing as ever...you truly are the strongest aren't you?'_

 **OwO**

The moment Bell left the labyrinth and turned in the meat for the request after bringing it out with his ability, he had stumbled his way into town, intent on heading to the Hostess of Fertility just so he could keep his promise to Eina tonight. She needed the day off and he was hellbent on giving her a night to relax and let off some steam. Even with the state he was in, he was completely intent on giving her a night of luxury and relaxation.

But the events of what happened in the labyrinth left a dark and hazy impression on him, the incident wouldn't be covered up. He was sure Finn being the man he was wouldn't dishonor the deaths of those that died because of his subordinates reckless behavior by trying to cover it up, but would inevitably do all he could to protect his subordinates from severe punishment, he was just that type of person. He was selfless in that, and for that he could respect him.

Yet that didn't mean he wouldn't want to see them punished, and by chance the Loki Familia _did_ try to cover it up, he'd step in as his other persona and personally make them evaluate their actions. He wasn't afraid of facing the familia if it meant protecting the honor of those that couldn't fend for themselves in the labyrinth. Those that died were unable to defend from the minotaur's and were caught up in the arrogance of Finn's subordinates so he would crush the familia and oppose even Loki should it ever come down to that.

While he took priority to become strong so he could protect Hestia and his loved ones, he also held a code to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. Which was why, if by chance the Loki familia did try to cover up the death's they caused, he wouldn't hesitate to bring down his full power on them for their sake.

Though Hestia would tear into his hide for doing something so outrageous, he just couldn't let those kind of thing's slide when he could have done something about it.

 _'Still, I guess out of the entire incident something good came of it...she really has grown.'_ Bell thought wistfully on the young woman who had come running toward his location. When he slew those minotaur's he had felt her coming and quickly began to seal back his power prematurely. Yet in the end, he underestimated how quickly she would arrive and in the end she found out about him. How? Because he knew she knew just by the look in her eyes and the fact she muttered his other persona's alias in such a manner.

Yet he couldn't really find it in himself to be worried, there was something in her eyes that told him she wouldn't spill his secret to anyone. However, it was also in those eyes that told him she was actively seeking him out, which answered his own question as to who was looking for him so fervently for all these years. He now had a name and the appearance of the one who wanted to see him so much, but he never thought it would be the girl he saved when he was 10 year's old.

...She had really grown up from the little pipsqueak who couldn't have even reached his chest at the time. He could just look at her and realize she had grown not only very beautiful but also very _very_ strong because that girl he saved turned out to become renowned Sword Princess of the Loki Familia, Aiz Wallenstein.

 _What were the odds?_

His red eyes lit up for a moment when he saw the Hostess of Fertility coming in sight, and he allowed a small smile to grace his features when he saw the familiar form of Eina standing by the entrance. But just as he was about to greet her...

 _Crack!_

Suddenly, Bell grimaced and grit his teeth as another surge of his power lashed out within his body, tearing and ripping away within him. _This_ was the consequence of letting out a bit of his power without unlocking the seal's he place on his own power. It was a forced output of his power and to prematurely lock it away when Aiz was coming toward him had caused a backlash on his own body.

Though he hid it well, the fact of the matter was, Bell had _a lot of power_ more then most could comprehend which was why such power lashed out against his body and would tear into his muscles and bones if treated in such a manner. This was his consequence and yet even as his muscles tore and his bones cracked under the pressure, he still kept a straight leveled expression. Even if each step he took felt like he was walking through an ocean of lava he would not allow himself to show any amount of pain infront of Eina right now. This was her night, and he would not allow himself to show any pain infront of her.

''Hey Eina-chan!'' he called out, leveling out his posture as he made his way toward her, and for a moment he took in her appearance with an appreciative gaze. The young woman was only showing why he found her natural beauty to be so appealing as she wore casual clothing consisting of a light yellow long sleeved shirt that was opened up with a frilled top around her neck and chest allowing for a bit of cleavage to show, though not glaringly so. Then she had on a red miniskirt that went down just a few inches below her waist. On her legs she wore black stockings that reached all the way up her long legs until they stopped about half way to reaching her skirt and her on her feet she wore what looked to be brown dress shoes.

Overall, Eina in casual clothes was a welcome change to Bell and for a moment he completely forgot about the pain his body was in as his cheeks flushed slightly at her appearance. ''Wow...''

Apparently Eina heard him as she turned to him with a nervous and embarrassed flush, but her smile was matched only by the sun itself in it's warmth. Her emerald eyes sparkled when she looked at him, and for one reason or another he felt his heart do a flip at the sight of her. _Zeus help him_ , why did Eina have to be so gorgeous?!

''Ah Bell-kun!'' her voice was like a melody that soothed his aching body, and he let out a sigh as he approached her. Beforehand he had cleaned himself up as best he could before he made his way here, only he disregarded his jacket back at the church. This left him with only his long sleeved black t-shirt, black pants, brown belt and his boots. While strapped ever presently was his knife on his left hip, but overall Bell felt a certain satisfaction that even in his sealed form he could appear to be somewhat appealing if Eina's appreciative gaze was anything to go by.

''Glad to see Misha passed on my message, seeing as you came Eina and I gotta say you look... _really_ dazzling.'' he had to comment causing her to let out a small giggle yet her blush grew darker from his comment, but the rare playful smile that came upon her features, that only enhanced her appearance, made his stomach do a spin.

''You don't look so bad yourself Bell-kun.'' she said causing his own cheeks to darken. _Ah shit._

''Ehm yeah thanks, so shall we go in?'' he asked to which she gave a nod and she walked inside firstly, followed closely behind Bell. But as they were reaching the counter, Eina's eyes discreetly went to Bell's side and for a moment she gazed at him until a soft smile graced her face. Her emerald eyes closed in content as she surprised the white haired young man when she grabbed his hand in her own causing his cheeks to darken.

 _'I may have mistook what he said before, but now after Misha's encouragement and the fact that I'm here with him, I'm gonna enjoy this for all I can.'_ the half breed's cheeks flushed scarlet as she pulled Bell alongside her, missing his wince and ignoring his feeble attempts to make her let go. And the warmth she felt coursing through his hand and into her body only made her smile grew as she squeezed his hand just a tad tighter.

It was time to have fun!

 **OwO**

 _It was time..._

That was the thought of Hestia, The Goddesses of the Hearth and Family, her deep blue eyes stared down at the scroll in her hands, a message sent to her like with every God residing in Orario. The letter was in fine print an invitation to what was Ganesha's annual Feast he had every year just before every Monsterphilia every year. It was a feast that was for the God's and Goddesses them alone. It was a place where they could relax, unwind and speak with their fellow deities without any restrictions or formalities with their familias present.

But this one was different, because in the letter, at the very bottom held the insignia of their homeworld, the Heaven's with the sun coming over the horizon.

It was the sign of what was also being held at the party for those select few that received the emblem in the first place.

The God's Council was about to take place, the meeting between the deities who held major power amongst the Heaven's. A Council of only a rare select few deities could attend, one that decided the fate of many happening's in the Lower World. It was a meeting that was held only every 5 year's, and the last meeting had been all about hunting down her beloved Bell, slandering him with the alias that was the name of their worst enemy in the world.

 _Tsk..._

For a moment, in the darkness of her and Bell's humble little abode, Hestia's long black hair flashed bright red as her control over her godly power _slipped_. Her bright blue eyes gained an ethereal glow as her expression morphed into a deep scowl as her energy incinerated the scroll into nothing, but ash. Her body flashed, her anger spiking as she thought about her fellow God's attitude toward her one and only familia dependent and the target of her affections.

For year's Bell had done everything in his power to ensure she was protected, well fed and gave her anything she wanted. He wiped away her debt to her fellow deities, and continued to support her and pull her out of trouble. He had sworn himself to her, both body and soul and for that there was little she could offer in exchange for such loyalty, for such admiration. He took care of her, stayed by her side whenever she wanted him to. He was always there, with her heart in his hands, and for that love she held for him she could not allow this to continue.

She could not allow her fellow deities to treat Bell, the man she _loved_ with all her being, like this anymore. It was one thing to give him the alias as _Diablo_ because she personally found it appealing to his character. But this time, it was clear of what they wanted to do to him.

 _And she would not allow that..._

''So, their gonna try and lock up Bell-kun, hm? Well I think it's about time I stopped letting them do what they please.'' Hestia spoke with a voice that was so unlike her. It was cold, unforgiving, but after what they've done to Bell, she could find no ounce of mercy in her to give to her fellow deities. If they wanted to continue pursuing Bell, and potentially hurt him or those around him.

 _Then by her power over the Heaven's, she would remind them why only her brother, Zeus, could stand against her..._

* * *

 **DONE!**

 **Okay, I'm not sure where I was going with this, I was a little muddled about halfway, but I got back on track at the end so I'm satisfied for the most part.**

 **So yeah, Hestia's a badass! Why? Because in Greek Mythology, She is the sister of Zeus and one of the children of the Titan's Rhea and Cronus. In the stories I've seen so far, I've not seen anyone explore this solid fact and I damn well want to do so because she has something she want's to protect dammit! And that's her little family with Bell, something she governs over as the Goddess of the Hearth and Family!**

 **Explored a bit more between Aiz's past and Bell's past as well, and I'm honestly thinking that I should do a short story of Bell's training from the moment he reaches Orario to this timeline after this story is eventually completed. Just to flesh out some details here and there.**

 **Eina's night of relaxation BEGINS! Now for you perv's out this don't not mean anything will happen between Bell and her, it's just a night for her to unwind from the stress the Guild's brought her lately. Still, it'll be interesting to go into detail on that XD**

 **If most of you paid extra close attention to what Bell did to Aiz and the condition he's in now, then just keep in mind I have something planned so just be prepared!**

 **AND YES! I changed what happened in canon with the Minotaur and Bell and his first meeting with Aiz. This time I around I gave it a more realistic view, and after reading the side story for Aiz, this only raises the bar of the incident the Loki Familia caused. It'll be interesting how they solve that, no?**

 **Now I think that's all, starting my night shift day after tomorrow so next update will take a bit longer then usual.**

 **That's it, so till then boy's and girl's, HAVE FUN!**

 **Replies to Review's:**

Crofty666: **Glad you understand, and yeah I got some thing's in mind, but nothing concrete yet.**

GreyMan19: **Thanks! And yes, I plan to introduce as many canon familia member's as I can, some in more unique way's then others.**

enigma95: **I get where you're coming from, this is my first official godlike fic, but from what I've seen of other's author's couldn't come up with a competent threat for the MC to face. But worry not, I've already got that figured out in my separate document's for this idea. Rest assured, Bell's got his work cut out for him. The crossover into Naruto won't show up until maybe another chapter or two, but it's there. As for the Harem, that's a secret! :)**

 **Now time to go, ja'ne!**


	4. The Winds of Change

**SURPRISE! Here's a quick chapter before I go into work tomorrow. It was really born from the depths of my idea's I've written down so far, so I hope you all enjoy this for what it's worth. Now before I get on with the rest of the AN I want to thank you all for the support and for some idea's/theories/suggestions in the reviews. You are all AWESOME!**

 **Now, I know it's only been 3 chapter's so far, but the plot's about to diverge into my own guys so bear with it, strap yourselves in and get ready for the EPIC JOURNEY!**

 **Onward!**

* * *

 **The Epic of** **Bell Ōtsutsuki**

Chapter 3: The Winds of Change

Bell had to admit something, to concede upon himself a revelation that he's just recently come to be aware of. It was a truth that, while it wasn't world breaking, it was just enough to alter his view ever so slightly on a certain someone that's been apart of his life for awhile now. Someone that's been his friend for year's and supported him, though she had no idea she was supporting a rogue adventurer that the Gods themselves were wary of.

Now you all may be wondering what that truth may be, and I'll tell you.

Bell had just come to realize that Eina Tulle, his personal guild adviser and a friend of his for the past 6 year's, _could not hold her liquor._

Meaning _she was a horrible lightweight..._

That was pretty much evident from the way he watched her from his seat as she slurred her words into almost incomprehensible syllables and phrases that made you wonder what she was trying to say. His eyes glinted in amusement from the way her cheeks flushed and her clothing long since ruffled as she joked about something with the head of the Inn, Mia Grand. Which the giant dwarven woman seemed to find funny as she let out another bellowing laugh as she brought in another another mug for the young woman.

 _'Still, this is exactly what she needed.'_ this was his gift to her, lately he'd come to realize he hadn't been spending as much as time as he wanted with her, she was one among little circle of friends and he wanted to give Eina some time to herself. As Diablo, he had a peculiar respectful relationship with Ouranos and Eina's boss, Royman Mardeel the head of the guild that worked directly under Ouranos himself. So, all he needed to do was pull some strings and he could give Eina a time to relax.

Especially since Royman, the old elf, owed him more then a couple of favors.

For a moment, Bell tore his gaze off Eina and let his eyes wash over the other denizens of the Hostess of Fertility that had come by tonight. To drink, to feast and to mostly have a grandiose time. Most of them were adventurers that had come back from the labyrinth and needed some much needed nourishment. Others were citizens of Orario that just wanted to have some fun and get away from their mundane jobs. It was an expectant sight to see for him, as he was someone who had been coming to this little pub for year's now and he had grown to seeing this.

The atmosphere of the Inn was just perfect in a sense as it eased the stress for adventurers after a long day of adventuring. It had that feeling of being welcomed, no matter who you were, and that was the kind of atmosphere anyone could enjoy. He himself knew that for a fact as Hestia had been the one to bring him here for the first time. Though she may have regretted that now as this was where he came to know 2 more of his close friends.

''It never changes here does it?'' he spoke to himself, that is before he heard a giggle and he turned to see a young woman standing beside him. How he didn't sense her was a mystery to him, but he had grown used to that peculiar mystery and instead he focused on the woman before him.

''I hope you don't mean that in a bad way, Bell-kun, otherwise Ryuu-chan and I may start to think you don't wanna see us anymore.'' the young woman stated, her tone full of mirth, but there was no bite in her tone. At her words, Bell freely expressed a true smile toward her as he took in her appearance with his eyes.

Syr Flova, a human girl that was one of the 2 friends he made here at the Inn, his eyes took in her bluish gray hair that was tied up in a small knot that turned into a ponytail. She had a milky white and smooth complexion and a maturing womanly body that could be clearly seen even from the waitress dress she wore. But the most interesting part he found in Syr were her _eyes_. Being one with a peculiar set of eyes himself, he strangely felt drawn to her eyes, which from one glance had the same shade as her hair, but to him there was _more_ to those eyes then at first glance.

He wasn't certain, but it made him curious and from that curiosity grew a interest that he found in her eyes. Some would say the eyes were the windows to the soul, and that saying would be true for most part. Yet when he looked int Syr's eyes he always found himself staring into an ever lasting sea of gray that blocked his vision from seeing what lay within. But that wasn't the only part of her he admired.

Syr Flova was a very cheerful, kind young woman. No one would argue that fact, but he had learned from personal experience on more then a few occasions that she was mischievous and at very rare times extremely scary. And she could, would and will at every opportunity tease him until he's blushing flustered mess. Something that he found to be similar to how Hestia would tease him. But beyond all that, he knew without a doubt of one thing, and that was the fact Syr was very kind and generous to anyone she met.

 _'I should know, she was quite stubborn in making me open up when Hestia first brought me here, she was still a kid back then, but she was as stubborn back then as she is now.'_ the thought brought a smile to his face as he turned to stare into her eyes. Addressing her with an expression of warmth that he gave only to his true friends.

''I would _never_ think of that, Syr-chan.'' he said semi-seriously and half jokingly which she took into consideration before giggling again. Though their eyes remained in contact with one another, the devotion to her and Ryuu, to his friends was clear to Syr. He _meant_ every word and more, Syr, Ryuu, Eina and Hestia were his friends and he would never betray that friendship. He'd sooner take his own life then to even think of breaking that bond he shared with them.

After a moment, Syr blushed prettily and averted her gaze as she gripped the him of her leaf green skirt, biting her lower lip she gave a small nod.

'' _I-I know I was just joking Bell-kun..._ '' her words were soft, but he heard her and content with her knowing that one absolute truth he began to turn back to the counter.

...Only see a platter of food and his mug of alcohol being refilled by a slender hand from over the counter. And he only needed to look up to see a sight that only made his smile grow.

''...You are the enemy of women everywhere, Bell-san.'' spoke a cool and tempered voice of the only woman that Bell knew could remain so balanced even in this time of atmosphere. And he looked up to see another woman though she was a few year's older then himself and Syr. His crimson orbs took in the appearance of an elf woman with a slender body with light green hair that reached just past her neckline. She had a healthy pale skin tone which only seemed to bring out bright blue eyes. Like Syr, she wore a waitress uniform, fit for the waitresses that worked at the Hostess of Fertility.

This was Ryuu Lyon, his other friend that worked at the Hostess of Fertility, a friend he made in her at the same time he met Syr. She was the silent, stoic type while Syr was the shy yet stubborn one. Yet as Bell looked at her he could only see her as another beautiful woman that seemed to be a constant in his rather young life. While Syr was a natural kind hearted yet mischievous woman, Ryuu was the emotionally balanced and mentally mature one that always seemed to know when he was troubled by something.

She was also the one he needed to be on guard around most of the time.

 _'While she may try to hide it, Ryuu-chan's eyes always seemed to be observing me, I wonder if she was an adventurer once.'_ he thought to himself, he didn't know as much as he would have liked about Ryuu, but one thing he caught on from her was that he was always very observant, especially on him which was why he kept himself guarded when she had that glint in her eyes.

Which she had now...

''…..What do you mean by that, Ryuu-chan?'' honestly he had no clue as to what she meant by that and he missed the expression Syr had once he said that. He was too innocently unaware of that fact that he was too honest about his goals with those he called friends. His resolve and devotion to them, and only them was a big factor to their relationship with him. He was, unlike most men, unafraid to show how much he cared for them or any of his friends and wouldn't hesitate to come to their aid no matter how much of a problem it would be for him.

In that kind of revelation, it was no wonder why Ryuu said that too Bell, but unfortunately that flew completely over his head.

Ryuu just let out a sigh before offering a small smile to the red eyed young man, which was a rarity itself. ''It's nothing to be concerned of right now, you'll understand later I'm sure.'' she said giving Syr a small glance causing her break out in a amused chuckle. All the while Bell, the poor oblivious young man that he was, didn't understand why Ryuu was giving him that strange smile and or why Syr was laughing like that.

Scratching his head in mild bewilderment, he shrugged before partaking in his food and drink .''Oh well I guess you're right.'' he took notice of the fact that Syr took a seat beside him while Ryuu busied herself by cleaning mug's from the other customers, but remained where she was. All the while her piercing blue eyes trained on him the whole time. Which made him feel slightly uncomfortable from how intense her gaze was.

It was more intense than it usually was.

But just as he was about to take a sip from his mug he felt a weight fall on his right shoulder and then a pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck. Then a pair of soft breasts was pushed into his shoulder, the softness caused him to freeze as the sensual feeling left him more than a little surprised. And then the smell of alcohol became very evident and he only had to look at his right to see cause of it. It was a sight that would have made him bust out laughing if he wasn't so worried.

It was Eina Tulle, her cheeks were flushed the darkest red he'd ever seen and her emerald eyes were glazed over, every labored breath she took was thick with the smell of alcohol and her body was shaking, thrumming with a sense of emotion that was so intense that he hadn't seen from her. _Ever_. It was an emotion he knew all too well, he saw it at times in Hestia when she looked at him and at times he felt when looking at Hestia.

It was _desire_ , complete and raw desire in it's most basest form. Desire glinted in her eyes, unabashed and completely overtaken, the raw sensual emotional thrummed throughout her drunken body. From the way she embraced him, the way her body _trembled_ against in his own, the way every breath she took made his own deeply locked desire lash out against it's cage. His eyes widened in alarm when he felt his fingers begin twitching and his already disturbed body begin to react to Eina's overly drunken action.

 _''Bell-kun~''_ she whispered sensually into his ear and Bell felt his face color and his red eyes widened even more in surprise.

''Ah! Eina-san! Calm down you're drunk!'' Syr stepped in after shaking herself from her stunned state. Bless you Syr-chan, bless your soul!

Eina though seemed just aware enough of her surroundings to look at Syr, but in her drunken stupor she pouted like a small child and promptly pulled Bell's face into her bosom causing his eyes to widened widely in shock. His arms flayed about in the air as the woman pushed his face deeper into her valley of soft...perky...pillows.

 _'No...no...shit...I'm losing myself...'_ Bell thought to himself.

'' _No! Hic! Bell-kun's m-m-m-m-my...my...myyyy~"_ however consciousness slipped in-between her fingers and her eyes grew heavy before she slumped forward. Her body falling against Bell completely which resulted in them both crashing into the floor, but the sound was drowned out by the other customers in the Inn. Still Eina's hair flared out as she fell ontop of Bell who's face was still buried in her bosom.

''MMMM! HMMMM!'' his arms flailed around wildly, all the while he did everything he could to not _scream bloody murder!_

 _'Oh god the PAIN! I didn't think I'd be in this much pain!'_ he definitely underestimated how much damage his body was undergoing, especially since he'd been trying his best to keep the damage his body was degrading into from everyone's eyes. Yet when Eina fell on him and brought him to the floor, that simple action alone made it feel like his body was being torn apart piece by piece, flesh by flesh, bone by bone. Only to be fixed up again and the process starting again and again and _again._

The pain, oh kami the _pain_!

Thankfully, he quickly got a hold of himself and grit his teeth as he took hold of the unconscious Eina and held her up allowing him to pull himself up from the floor. His bones screamed in protest at the action alone, but he ignored it and pushed away the pain and the degradation of his body into the farthest depths of his mind as he stood up. Picking up Eina he turned towar dhte worried and surprised eyes of Syr and Ryuu to which he spoke.

''C-can she use one of your rooms for tonight? I don't think she'll be waking up anytime soon.'' he said in a veiled expression of amused exasperation.

Thankfully he received a nod from them.

Bless their souls...

 **OwO**

''Thanks for doing this, Mia-san.'' Bell thanked the dwarven woman one last time to which she just waved him off with an easy going grin.

''Oh no worries kid, it's well worth it after seeing little Eina finally unwind like that! Now go on and get some rest, you've paid your bill so head on home. Me and the girls will take care of Eina.'' the woman spoke causing Bell to smile. With a small glance at the sleeping Eina in one of the beds in the dormitory of the Inn he grasped the door knob and closed the door behind him.

Then he let out a sigh as he leaned his head against the door frame. The events of tonight slowly began to weigh on his shoulders and despite what happened with Eina he could still say it was a fun night for him too, it was a night of which he actually needed. He'd been adventuring for so long now that he almost forgot what it meant to relax himself.

However his eyes narrowed when his body began to shake and with all the resolve built up over the year's he willed his body to calm itself. Contrary to what he looked on the outside, on the inside his body was still going through excruciating amounts of pain. So much pain that he was sure he broke a molar from gritting his teeth so hard. The taste of copper was evident in his mouth, but he ignored it for the most part as he let out a slow leveled out breath. Trying to calm himself from the pain that he was earlier under the impression would have settled by now.

''Are you alright, Bell-san?''

….It took everything Bell had not to jump alarm. With all his senses focused on suppressing his internal pain from exploding he hadn't sensed the presence that was near him until it made itself known.

Slowly he inhaled and exhaled once again before he pulled himself from the door and glanced to his right to see Ryuu gazing at him with her usual stoic expression, but their was a spark of worry in those blue eyes. That alone made him straight straighter in a thinly veiled attempt to appear just fine.

''Yes...Yes, is something wrong Ryuu-chan?'' he questioned the elf woman who's eyes seemed to narrow in suspicion before she stepped closer toward him.

''You're.. _.trembling_. I've been meaning to ask this, but you've been trembling the moment you came to the pub. But now it's gotten worse...'' she commented as she came closer to him. He tried, oh he so _tried_ to hide the flinch when she laid her slender hand on his shoulder. And he grimaced when he saw her eyes widened in alarm. That alarm only grew into worry when she felt him flinch against her touch and the way his trembling only got worse.

'' _You're in pain...''_ she breathed out before her eyes cut across to him and Bell merely closed his eyes and hid his obvious agonizing pain behind a small grin. Turning away and quickly walking to the stairs he spoke.

''I-it's nothing Ryuu-chan I just need some sleep is all! You and Syr-chan get some sleep as well, I-I'll see you later, I promise!'' and with his piece said he ran, he _ran_ down the stairs with a pained expression causing him to miss Ryuu's expression of horrified shock as she watched him go. The realization came dawning upon her as she looked back down at her hand, the same hand she placed on Bell only to feel the lasting contact she made with him.

She was an elf, a child of nature itself and thus she was very sensitive to the energies of the world and in other people. Which was why the moment she touched Bell she felt a link between herself and him form, and in that link she felt what was causing him so much pain. And it took all her years of self-control to not let out a cry of terrified shock.

 _Power..._

 _So much power..._

 _'No...'_ she thought with horrific realization, her hand tingled in barely suppressed pain, the lingering energies she felt from Bell coursed itself through her hand causing it to burn and tingle slightly. Her eyes narrowed in worry for the young man that fled as she hid her hand away behind her skirt.

 _'That was too much power...that sheer amount of power...it was almost like I was drowning in it! And it was...building... **expanding**. Bell-san's body...it was burning...was he...going through that the entire time he came here?'_ her hand went to her heart as she thought about that . The thought alone pained her greatly, thinking that he was going through so much pain before her eyes and having little to no idea until now. To know the boy who befriended her year's ago was going through that amount of pain right under her nose.

Why...why was he hiding it?!

''...Bell...'' she let out his name for the first time without any suffix to his name. Her worry for him became dominant as she looked back to where she watched him go.

For Bell as he went down the stairs and saw the door leading outside, he all but jumped toward it causing it to snap open as he hurled himself out of the pub. But as he stumbled down the few stairs from the pub's entrance he let out a hiss as the pain grew more fierce. His body thrummed and pulsed with his power, restrained as it was, and he let out a pained gasp as he almost fell to a knee.

 _'Why...why hasn't the pain vanished! What's going on!?'_ stumbling forward Bell bit his lip as he stalked away from the pub, gripping his body for all it was worth. Trying to hold on to the power in his body that threatened to slip through the cracks of his fleeing control.

And as he walked away he never accounted for the young woman, Syr, watching him go as she leaned against the building she worked in. Her gray eyes watched him go with a sorrow filled light and an expression of anguish formed upon her face. In light of watching him, Bell, the man of her affections walk away in such obvious tormenting pain, Syr Flova's eyes closed in grief. Her hands gripped at the hem of her shirt as she turned and walked away from the pub, entering the alleyway Syr opened her eyes again...

Only to show her once gray eyes had melded away into a royal purple that glinted with a power that was otherworldly and yet the pain in those eyes were true. Pain from the heart, sorrow from the soul, anguish from the love she harbored for the young man that walked away from the pub, from _her._

''Bell...I knew...I knew it had to be you...but why... _why must you be in so much pain?_ ''

 **OwO**

At this point, Bell was sure no one knew what true pain was like better then he did at this very moment. With each step he took, his body was literally bursting, his bones broke and regenerated at the same pace. His clothes tore at the seems as his body exploded with his breath he took, blood spewed from various parts of his body. With each pained gasp of air, his power, his natural born energy, his _chakra_ slipped from the cracks of his control. By the moment he reached the church, his body was soaked in crimson, each footstep left behind a bloody footprint, blood poured from his body that was tearing itself apart to restrain the power within him. His once pure white hair was darkening into a rusty red from the blood pouring from his scalp.

 _'What's...what's happening to me...this...this isn't supposed to be happening...this should have stopped long ago...Hestia...I need...Hestia...'_ that was the sole driving force that kept him from falling at this point. He knew without a shadow of a doubt Hestia would know what was wrong with him and would be able to heal him. At first he thought this was just a consequence of releasing a bit of his power prematurely at the labyrinth earlier today, but now the pain's only grown to such a degree that it was tearing his body apart.

He tried to seal it in the labyrinth earlier, but had something gone wrong? Why was his power breaking out? He locked it away for that very reason!

The red life giving liquid dripped from his body as opened the door to the church, and once it closed behind him Bell didn't have time to even call for Hestia as he lost all self control and fell to his knee's as another wave of mind numbing pain surged forth in the form of another pulse. He gasped, but as his hands fell to the floor his eyes widened as yet another pulse, _many times stronger_ , escaped his body.

Then...then Bell _screamed._

 _ **''AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!''**_

In a horrific display of gore, blood exploded from his body again. Painting the churches inner walls crimson, tainting the cross in front of him red with his blood. In that instant, Bell lost consciousness and his body fell face first too the floor. If one were to even look at his body now they would have wretched after seeing his back and chest blown out by some unseen force. His open eyes, wide in shock were gone, and his mouth was in the form of a perpetual scream of agony.

…..

Then what followed was a wave of pure jet black darkness that leaked out from his torn, and broken body. It took on the form of a black void of nothingness, a misty black that leaked off his body before it seemed to latch onto his body. The light of the moon itself was snuffed out by the darkness that came out from the boy's body before it took hold of the seemingly dead young boy and wrapped itself around him.

Slowly, the darkness seeped back into the boy's flesh causing the wounds on his person to instantly regenerate at a speed that was far faster than normal. His blown out chest grew back, his lungs and heart regenerated back and his bones came back in the span of a second. For all intents and purposes, Bell looked perfectly fine now.

However, purple tattoo's began to thrum to life all across his arms, legs, and chest. Each having the design of a flame-like marking that thrummed with a power that was far too alien to ever be conceived in this world. They grew and stretched among his body like a second skin, going up his waist and shoulders, spanning his chest and up his neck before the markings finally reached his face.

Then Bell's white eyes flashed...

And a pair of maroon orbs with a ripple-like pattern appeared over the full scope of his eyeballs, but then a comma began to appear over each ring that overlapped each other until their was a total of 9 comma's. Those dual, abnormally otherworldly eyes unconsciously _spun_ in a hypnotizing manner that seemed to carry a life of their own before the pattern vanished revealing only crimson orbs with no light of consciousness in them. Then the tattoo's vanished as well, as if they were never their to begin with. Then Bell's eyelids closed to the world.

And then...darkness greeted him like a long lost son.

No one would ever be the wiser of a humanoid figure of pure blackness watching over Bell's unconscious form. It stood with the physique of a man, but it was an entity of void less black that even when standing on the rooftop, watching from the hole in the ceiling, that even the moon's brilliant radiance could not even reveal it's appearance.

 _For it had none at all..._

The _things_ shoulders trembled in what seemed like quiet laughter, as if the entity found what it had seen to be an amusing spectacle. It's laughter held no emotion though, no life, no death, no _soul_ whatsoever. It was a hollow chuckle, one fit for an entity such as itself.

 **'' _Finally_ you start to amuse me, child. I suppose you aren't a complete failure as I once imagined.''** the figure crouched low, staring aimlessly at the prone body of Bell with no eyes, but it was still _staring_ down at the unconscious young man as if it could see him, through him and read his complete soul bare, as if it were an open book to it.

And it was...

 **''Yes…. _Yes_...Continue this little show, boy. Show me, _prove_ to me that you aren't an utter failure like the rest of these _wretches_."** with the thing's piece said, it just...vanished. No smoke, no display of power, no wisp of wind...no nothing.

It just vanished...

All the while Bell would remain oblivious about the letter left behind in his and Hestia's room.

An hour passed, and in the midnight sky under the light of the moon, the churches door slowly creaked open to reveal the physique of another man whom. The man stopped once he saw all the blood around the churches interior and a low whistle escaped the man.

'' _Woooow~_ This explains the blood I saw earlier...'' he said in a grim acknowledgment before turning his shadowed gaze upon the prone form of Bell in the center of the churches floor. With a somber silence the man walked toward him before coming to the young man's side. And soon his appearance was revealed to be a young man wearing an attire consisting of what would be mostly western with a cowboy hat that covered his naturally curly sandy blond hair. The distinct feature he had was a pure white feather which was stuck into the fabric of his hat.

''Well...old man Zeus wasn't kidding when he said it wouldn't be pretty when I found you. However, I didn't think you would be this banged up kid.'' the man spoke before a content smile crossed his features. ''Oh well, at least I found you before the others did...now up you go!'' with a small grunt of effort the man lifted the young Bell onto his shoulder and with a brief flash of white the man vanished with the unconscious Bell.

 **OwO**

There was an unspoken rule among the Gods and Goddesses, an unofficial law that many had to follow lest they risk damnation upon themselves. It was a rule that no one had dared to tread upon as the consequences of such a foolish action were very real and were very terrifying for any foolish deity that did such a idiotic thing.

And that was to cross a certain Goddess, a Goddess that many overlooked due to her rather young appearance, but time and time and time again vastly underestimated the sheer magnitude of power she wielded among the seven Heavens. This Goddess was one that was for the majority of her very being a compassionate and loving woman to anyone. She was a kind, pure soul at heart.

Yet when spited, she was one of the most dangerous entities to ever grace the Heaven's, in her wrath chaos would follow, in her hands even others Gods fell before her as she has proven time and time again. Those that truly _truly_ earned her fury would never have time to even apologize as she would bring down upon them a fury that nigh any deity would ever imagine.

The only ones who learned early on about this was her close friends and her siblings that knew about her true power. She was a Goddess that was not as well known as others on earth, but in the Heaven's her very name was like speaking of a nightmare come to life.

 _Hestia_ was the Goddess of the Hearth, the exemplar of the governing figure of family. She loved family, family is what she always wanted, it is what she has _always_ wanted to have even in her youth with her siblings. Yet she could never have such a thing for most of her siblings were either pompous fools, idiots with an ego the size of the earth, a pervert that had the libido the size of the galaxy and an absolute airhead.

Her siblings never knew the value of family and for the longest amount of time she wondered if she would have such a thing. Yet in just a few short years in what was her long long _long_ life, Hestia had finally found her family. She had found her family in the form of a young boy who grew up to become a man. A man that would become something more, something that she herself would never have dreamed of becoming until a few year's earlier.

She had found a family in the man she loved with all of her soul. Hestia _loved_ Bell with all of her being, her heart was always in his hands. He was her family and in him she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She loved everything about that man, his compassion for her, his devotion to her and his small circle of friends. His willingness to go above and beyond the realms of what was possible just to support her. His resolve to protect her through whatever was thrown at them.

Hestia knew she had it bad _...very bad_ for Bell Ōtsutsuki, but she didn't care as she loved him. From the moment she found the young boy in the alleyways of Orario until now. She had fallen head over heels for him in such a manner that even Aphrodite herself would have been jealous by her sheer unquestioning love she had for him, and only him.

However there was one thing she wanted from him, a selfish desire really, but of all the things he has done for her, the one thing she truly wanted from Bell was his _love_ and if possible maybe...just _maybe_...have a family _with_ him...to love and to be loved in return...to have children with him. To always be in his arms was her dream.

And yet...the love of her immortal life was being _threatened..._

 _By her fellow deities..._

The line between self control and going on a murderous rampage was becoming increasingly blurry to Hestia as she stalked towards the Gods Council chambers. Her blue eyes were unusually cold, colder then the very void itself. Even the sounds of the party Ganesha was throwing below the temple did little to affect her temperamental state.

Truly, the only thing that could quell Hestia's anger that built upon by year's of watching her love be slandered by overly cautious Gods and Goddesses was Bell himself.

Yet...he was not there to stop her.

It would take a miracle for her to come out of this meeting this time _without_ tearing most of her fellow deities apart.

Once Hestia reached the doors that led inside the Council chambers she stopped and took a deep breathe before she exhaled. Closing her eyes she let her thoughts go to the love of her life and of all the slander he's suffered by the hands of the deities in this very room. To have to undergo a double life to protect her and his friends from them and his potential enemies. To have been given the alias of the very entity that long ago had been the nemesis of the Gods themselves.

A image of Bell's smiling visage materialized in her mind and a small smile made it's way onto her face and she placed a hand over her heart which thrummed lightly at the image of her dearly beloved.

 _'Bell...give me some of your resolve so I don't lose myself in this.'_ with her resolve renewed if ever so slightly, Hestia's expression was hidden behind a facade of her usual happy-go lucky personality. With a reignited fire she placed her hands on the doors and went on in...

She would have no idea of the change that would come about this meeting.

* * *

 **Done! Yeah I know, you guys are frustrated from no Council meeting yet. But! It will happen next chapter, and it WILL be eventful I promise you all that.**

 **Now, you can see I was very serious about Hestia, I love her, I really do, but I find it appalling no one's explored her character in other danmachi fics. It's a bit disconcerting really.**

 **Now, what happened to Bell? Well that's actually apart of the story that will be explained in chapter 5, I got it all pre-planned before hand so don't think it was a random act that came out of nowhere that just...happened. There is after all...a method to my madness!**

 **As for Syr? I wanted to do something different so I decided to screw everything and go for it. Those that noticed the subtle hint message me and I'll explain if you so wish.**

 **Now to answer Reviewer's Questions:**

Crofty666: **I think this chapter answered your own question, but there is a small difference between Bell's eyes and others. As for my interest in bringing real mythology lore into this, yeah I wanted to do this as it makes the story flow more easily and make it more entertaining. I've got LOTS of idea's for the Greek mythology in particular. As for Bell's enemies...let's just say there is many more powerful enemies out there for him to face.**

Revinator: **Thanks! And you along with everyone else will find out the answer to your own question next chapter. The meeting is a chapter I plan to construct with more precision then most of my chapters, just to make it more interesting.**

Dragon Blaze-X: **I plan to have Hestia to be a major character in this story so yeah she'll be a big player when thing's got o absolute hell in a hand basket.**

enigma95: **I personally love darker stories and aim to craft a dark one from this so be on the lookout of that. As for Freya, I've got a unique set up for her, some that actually pay her close attention may have noticed something interesting in this chapter.**

 **Well that's all I got to say everyone so please, like and review. The next chapter WILL take longer I promise because of work tomorrow lol. XD**


	5. The Divine Council

**Okay got 3 days off and over the course of when I get off work I've been working on this chapter and with these 3 days off I can officially finish this one and jump start the next one.**

 **Now concerning this story, it may have seem like I threw a curve ball last chapter and from a reader's perspective it may have very well been. But it was intended because I intend to implement lots of mythology and other anime elements into this chapter and the overall story. The Bleach element will share another aspect as well, but it's only one of the few I plan to put into it.**

 **I spent some time looking over the stories overall plot, and I've got the end of it pretty much planned out, but from there to now is still rough so bear with me. Also this chapter is a majority dedicated to the Council Meeting so be prepared for all kinds of crazy shit!**

 **And a surprise at the end...**

 **Now then...**

 **Onward!**

* * *

 **The Epic of Bell** ** **Ōtsutsuki****

Chapter 4: The Divine Council

Gods...

Goddesses...

The entities that transcended the very realms of mortal understanding. The beings whose home resides in the Seven Heaven's that watches over all of creation. They were the ultimate beings. The greatest existences to have ever been conceived. They were the almighty ones, people who had no equal in terms of sheer raw power. They were the divine beings who no one _dared_ to oppose for in fear of their wrathful fury that could destroy the earth itself.

It was they, the pantheon of the divine, who watched over their children from the Heaven's and yet in a decision made many centuries ago it was decided that they would live amongst their own creations. To see, to experience, to _live_ life just like their own subjects. To wipe away their own boredom they came down from the Heaven's to live on the Lower World, the Earth. Locking away their godly power by ancient law so they could live life through the body and eyes of their own children.

However the Gods and Goddesses had no equal among the realm of mortals, even with their power locked away every mortal understood on some primal understanding that as restricted as they were a deity was every bit as dangerous without their powers. It came down to terms of how much they knew, their wisdom made a mortals pale in comparison, their experiences drawn upon their immortal unchanging life's dwarfed the meager lifespans of their creations. They knew more than anyone else, that was a solid unbreakable fact, and no one in their right mind would challenge a deities wisdom.

The Gods and Goddesses were, even with their power locked away, were still as dangerous as they were with it. They were the ones who ruled over the Kingdom's of Mortal's, manipulated the races behind the shadows or through political warfare. Under their leadership, it was unanimously true that every city, every kingdom, every race would flourish under their guiding hand. And their children worshiped them all the same because of this, even when they restricted themselves to be at bare bones mortal, average in almost every sense. Their children worshiped them for all they have given them.

Gods and Goddesses held no ranking when it was among their children, for they were always at the top, power or no.

…..Yet the same could not be said when it was amongst themselves. When it was among them, every God and Goddess held a ranking among their own kind. Among the Seven Heaven's every God or Goddess was ranked in terms of a few qualities that made them what they were. These rankings are what separated every deity into a different level of what kind of God or Goddess they were.

Power, Wisdom, Experience, Strength, Agility, Reflexes, Endurance, Stamina. Such things were what most would think to be what tested the mettle of every deity. However, in terms of the deity's ranking it was different from a mortals understanding because it all came down to one singular aspect of what made them low or high in the ranks of their own kind.

 _Influence..._

Power, Strength, Wisdom and Experience would only get a God or Goddess so far. But it was the influence that was the key aspect that determined a deities level of status amongst their own kind. What specific qualities they had to themselves was only an a minor aspect to their overall rank. Influence was given upon them by their own children that worshiped that specific deity, by those that knew of them or those that practiced in their specific governing ruling body. With influence, it is what separated the Chief Deities from the Major and Minor Gods and Goddesses.

And when the decision to come down to the Lower World was made, the formation of the _Divine Council_ was formed. It was the ruling body of every Chief Deity and Major God or Goddess that ruled over the Heavens. It was a means to govern over the matter's pertaining to the status quo of the earth and it's overall inhabitants. To keep the balance over the earth, it was to settle any and all disputes, problems or other matters that threatened to break the balance of the earth.

It was held every 5 year's to accumulate all that would happen in those year's and deal with any problems that would arise in that time span. And when a Deity was told to come to the Council, no matter what you were doing, who you were, you were _obliged_ to come. If not then you were risking yourself to be at the mercy of the one who called for the Council in the first place. A deity would be branded with a sealing designate that would permit other Gods and Goddesses the specific removal over their sealed powers for a limited time so they could hunt down their fellow deity and drag him or her back to the Council for the consequences.

 _No one_ was allowed to ignore the meeting, and if one should do so then they would face the consequences.

Except...for one...

Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth and Family. The Divine Council held little meaning to her and even if she hadn't come, no one would have come after her for the simple fact of _what she was._ Despite her rather young appearance, Hestia's status as a Goddess among the Heaven's went unquestioned by even the most arrogant and ignorant deities. Though her name was unknown to most and was looked over by the majority of her kind, there was the simple fact that _you do not cross Hestia._

She was the eldest of the first generation of the Olympian Gods, the Middle-Western pantheon of Greek deities. She was the firstborn of the mythological Titans Rhea and Cronus which by age, she was one of the oldest living deities to ever exist in the Seven Heavens. Only a few could be counted on her hands that surpassed her in age and those that did were either long dead or were apart of a different pantheon.

But that is not what made her such a dangerous existence, it had nothing to do with her age, her wisdom or her experience. There was a reason why she alone could bypass the laws set forth by the Divine Council's formation. There was a _reason_ why she was left alone by others in Orario.

It was because of _fear_ , plain and simple.

Hestia was known by most to be a pacifist, she held a non-confrontational attitude towards just about anyone. It was why she passed on leadership of the Olympian Gods to her younger brother Zeus. Because she held no desire nor any wish to confront anyone just on the basis of something as trivial as who was right or who was wrong, who was stronger and who was weaker. It held no meaning to her, it was trivial and meaningless to her.

That is...until recently when she had shown an interest for the first time in millennium, it was for the first person who became her familia dependent. It was become of _him_ , that she started to attend these Council meetings, it wasn't out of any other reason then for him and him alone. Though she cared for the children of the lower world, all of her attention was on the man who grew up into who he was today, the one who changed her from who she once was. It was for no other reason that she started to attend these meetings.

It was all because of the man she loved. Her soul, her body, her heart was his as he was to her. Bell Ōtsutsuki was the man for whom she would give up her own innocence for, her chastity that she's held onto for so long. It was because of Bell that she attended this because.

 _It was to protect him..._

Hestia's blue eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural azure as she walked inside the Council Chambers with a natural grace that was both otherworldly and yet divine in every aspect. Every breath she made was even, every move was balanced, her pose was graceful, but beyond that lithe frame that appeared to be a young woman spoke of something else entirely. Beyond that seemingly young body, was the soul of _Hestia_ , _the firstborn of ancient titans Rhea and Cronus_.

For the man she loved, Hestia was willing to toss aside her passive nature and make her fellow deities remember why she was so feared.

 _'Hopefully, I can keep myself docile long enough, it wouldn't do for me to lash out...yet.'_ inwardly her eyes narrowed at the notion. The last time she attended this meeting she had _nearly_ unveiled information on Bell in her anger towards her fellow deities. This time around she was going to have to keep her temper in check. Bell decided to keep his identity a secret to protect those he cared for and while she still opposed it, she still supported him because in some manner he was correct.

Her fellow deities, contrary to what they would say, were incredibly paranoid and cautious of Bell's other persona. Because of his extremely fast rise to power and his deeds in the Labyrinth beneath Orario becoming so well known they were doing everything in their power to find him. Meaning they would use any method to get to him, by getting him or using other methods agaisnt those that were associated with him.

Luckily, no one had been found being in contact with Diablo besides the Guild Master, Ouranos himself. And _no one_ was going to anger that particular celestial disaster.

That was a death sentence in of itself...

Overall, it was Bell's choice to do this, and as the Goddess whom he had sworn himself too she would honor that conviction of his and do all she could to protect him. And if that meant unleashing her power upon the Heaven's once again and bathe the Universe in celestial fire _then so be it._

Inwardly Hestia sighed at what was about to come but outwardly she showed no emotion as she finally took her seat amongst the Council Chambers. At that moment she cast her gaze amongst the room, surveying it for all those that were present.

The Council Chambers was built with a dome like shape with 8 columns built around the outer edge. Inside there was 2 circular rows that went around the inner chamber which was connected to a door for those that were called into question before the Gods and Goddesses. The first row had a total of 3 seats meant for the 3 Chief Deities that ruled over the Earth. And on the second row was a total of 6 other seats with two for each below the Chief Deity seat. These were for the Major Gods aligned with that specific pantheon.

And Hestia ignored all the stares she received as she took the Chief Deity seat for the Olympian Pantheon. She leaned back slightly, matching all the stares she received with a cool gaze that was unnerving to see on the normal exuberant Goddess. For a moment she took the time to look down to see who was with her to represent the Greek Gods and Goddesses and she was not surprised to meet the gaze of her old friend Hephaestus, the Goddess of the Divine Smithing.

Hephaestus was a beautiful woman in her own regard. She has crimson eyes, not as dark as Bell's own, and long red hair that fell down to her waist that was tied in a simple messy ponytail. She had a rather sharp face and a slender body with an eyepatch over her right eye. She wore black boots with skin tight black pants with a brown leather belt. Upwards she wore a white long sleeved button up shirt with a few buttons left open revealing a fair amount of her generous cleavage. However the sleeves were tucked into elbow length black gloves.

Hestia felt a small amount of relief when the woman offered her a small unnoticeable smile, Hephaestus was one of the very few true friends that she could count on. She was the one who Hestia could look to for advice and vice versa. Out of most of the Olympian deities, Hestia could confidently say she held Hephaestus in the highest regard, more so then most of her siblings.

Of course Hephaestus knew nothing of Bell's double life, but she treated Bell well enough though she did treat Diablo, to her slight annoyance, with a rather _fangirlish_ attitude. The reason? Because of the item's he's brought in from the unexplored floors of the labyrinth have nearly all went to Hephaestus and her smithing familia. The materials of a few were some she had never worked with and the most recent had been the Horn ripped off the corpse of an Elder Ember Dragon, a creature that hadn't been seen since the early mythological age.

So yes, to Hestia's annoyance, Hephaestus had a small fangirl quirk when it came to Bell's other persona. The very same whose name became such a hot topic amongst the deities for the past few years. Still she liked Hephaestus for who she was and for being such a loyal friend for all these years.

But the same could not be said for the person sitting beside Hephaestus, the other deity that was representing with Hestia for the Olympians. Hestia's right eye twitched when she looked down to see the brown gaze of the one God she absolutely _despised._

''As beautiful as ever, Hestia...'' the comment made her want to, for just a moment, allow her eyes to burn a hole through the Gods head. Instead she merely frowned at the God who in turn just smiled playfully at her annoyance.

It was Apollo, The God of Light and Music, the one God among others who frequently flirted with her among the Heavens before they came down to the lower world. He was a God who was as persistent as he was annoying and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. And on more then one occasion she's had to beat it into him to leave her alone. Apollo was a beautiful man by physical appearance. He had wavy blonde hair and brown eyes that twinkled with mirth. He wore an attire of royal clothes befitting his stature as a God and not a resident of the Earth. Like many male Gods he liked to flaunt his divine status even amongst the earth. While not as arrogant as Ares, he was still in Hestia's words an arrogant bastard.

 _'Though I would be more afraid if Bell ever met with Apollo, that would be something I'd rather not happen. Who knows what he'd do if he knew what Apollo's tried to do to me in the past.'_ she thought whimsically, yet inwardly a smile came to her face. Though she didn't want to even think about such a thing ever coming to pass, it was still comforting to know that without a doubt, Bell would fight and kill even a God for her.

The thought filled her with a warmth that eased her state, if only slightly.

Ignoring Apollo, Hestia cast her gaze forward to the others that came, looking to her right she saw the deities that represented the Norse Pantheon and the deities that ruled the northern lands. Unlike most pantheons, the Norse Gods and Goddesses were alike with the Olympians in terms of protecting their creations and directly intervening when a threat came upon them. They were adventurous and were attuned to having fun, even at the expense of causing trouble for others.

The Chief deity was none other then the one eyed Odin with both Huginn and Muninn ravens sitting quietly over his shoulders. Odin had the appearance of a very old man with long gray hair with a few bangs parting way for his light blue right eye with his left covered by an eyepatch. He also had, in Hestia's humble opinion, the _longest beard_ imaginable. Seriously, the thing felt down to his feet! However, contrary to his warrior-like pantheon, he wore robes consisting of white and blue with gold trimmings. He wore simple white shoe slippers and a wooden cane laid across his lap While atop his head he wore what seemed like a crown with golden trimmings with blue sapphires embedded into the crown.

Overall, Odin appeared to be in almost every sense of the word unassuming. However he was not the God of Battle and Death for no reason. He was the father of many Gods, the most eye catching being Thor and Baldr, and with his power she had seen firsthand what he could _really do._

Then Hestia looked at the deities below him and to her surprise the first person she saw was another one of her friends though maybe not as close as she was to Hephaestus. Who she saw was a beautiful woman with long silky light silver hair with a complexion that was as white as snow. Her eyes were of the most deep royal purple she had ever seen and they seemed to spark with an inner light, as if she knew something others did not. She had a slim yet curvy figure that did in fact bring men to their knee's and fall every time they laid eyes on her. She wore a cloak of black and red raven feathers that did little to accentuate her robust bosom, wide hips and long legs.

Hestia caught the gaze of the woman who merely smiled and offered a small wave to which she only offered in kind. The woman was in fact Freya, the Goddess of Beauty, Love and War and was quite possibly Hestia's greatest enemy. Not out of spite, but out of caution because of one simple fact.

Freya was a charmer of men, there was no denying of that fact however she never laid with one as of yet as her charms were too overpowering and caused those that fell under her sway to dream. Her beauty was both a blessing and a curse as any men that looked upon her would not be able to truly look beyond that beauty to see the woman that Freya was. And for that she's been unable to find the man that could be her equal, to see beyond her divine beauty that she was born with and see her for who she was.

Which was why Hestia was so cautious of her, Freya was always on the prowl which was why she protected Bell by having Ouranos throw an illusionary spell over him years ago.

It was to protect him from Freya.

She was already having to share Bell with those he called _friends_ , there was no way she was going to give him up to anyone else!

Then her blue gaze fell on the other deity and it was none other then the hammer-wielding God himself, Thor. In stark contrast to his fellow deities, Thor gave off a very strong presence. It was thick with power and strength which only added to his overall appearance. Thor was a giant of a man, easily standing 7,0 with a body that was all muscle. He wore a suit of armor that was mainly silver with a long red cape, while strapped to his left hip was the legendary hammer Mjölnir. Thor had long gold hair that fell around his shoulders and deep blue eyes that glowed with a fierce almost brutal light. He had a strong angular face and a slight stubble that seemed to only broaden his overall rough appearance.

In her limited experience, Thor was a deity of immense strength. He was the God of Thunder and the first one to jump into danger if it meant to protect their children on earth. This was the first time she'd seen Thor as he was always usually off fighting or protecting the earth from threats all over the galaxy.

 _'Still stories don't do him justice, that's a strong presence he's got.'_ Hestia thought to herself, while not even affected by it she did give the young God some points for being a deity she could respect to a degree.

Then finally she turned her gaze to the left and what she saw to her slight surprise was the three deities that would represent the Shinto pantheon and those that ruled the eastern lands. The Shinto Gods and Goddesses were for the most part a mysterious bunch even amongst their own kind. They were of the opinion to leave mortals to their own machinations and let them live and grow how they wished. So it was a surprise to many that they chose to come down to the earth with the other two pantheons so long ago.

The Chief Deity was an even bigger surprise, it was the estranged Great God Izanagi himself. The forefather of the Shinto Gods who along with his long dead wife and sister Izanami birthed the first generation of the Shinto deities. Izanagi was from what she could remember a deity who held a tense friendship with her younger brother Zeus and Odin. Yet he was always unwilling to have anything to do with their creations in the lower world. Which was why it came to the surprise of many that he decided to bring himself and his pantheon to the earth when the suggestion was offered.

Izanagi was a man with black as night hair that fell down to his neck along with a beard and mustache. He was adorned in a simple black kimono with a rather simplistic design consisting of a sun coming over the horizon on the back. His eyes were as black as the empty vacuum of space and just as cold as well. In appearance he seemed very much unassuming like Odin himself, but that couldn't be any farther from the truth.

Then there was the two deities below him and the first one was yet another surprise. It was a absolutely _gorgeous_ woman with long flowing hair that was as white as the moon. Her round innocent blue orbs held a deep spark of mirth even in the tense atmosphere and the small smile on her face only showed how much she cared about what was happening. The woman was dressed in a moon white yukata with red flower petal designs running down the side of it. Embroidered on the back however was the design of a lake with the full moon breaking over the calm water.

This woman was none other then Inari Ōkami , the Goddess of Foxes and Sake, and was also the creator of the Runarl race. A race of human/fox hybrids that carried her mark from the moment they were born. Inari was a principal Goddess among the Shinto pantheon who was very well known for her pranks when excited, some could be harmless and some were just nasty as all Gods and Goddesses could attest to that among the Seven Heavens.

 _'She's as beautiful as ever, but don't think I've forgotten your pranks yet, Inari-san.'_ Hestia thought amused glint in her equally azure blue eyes.

And finally her eyes fell upon the last deity in the chamber, and it was probably the biggest surprise of them all. If Thor was a giant of a man, then the man she was looking at now dwarfed him by 3 feet. It was a titan of a man who seemed to be at the height of 10 foot equally. He wore a simple red kimono with no footwear whatsoever. He had hair that was dark crimson that spiked in the back with sharp eyes and a angular jawline. His physique was a body built for both speed and power. His eyes however were different from most others as it was a shade of gold with flecks of red and green intermixed while sharp slits for pupils stared at them all with a cold impassive gaze.

Contrary to Thor's presence of savage power and brutal strength, this mans presence was a cold, balanced and neutral one, the presence was so cold it could have even froze the sun itself in it's intensity.

Which made him all the more dangerous then Thor in that regard.

 _'Well this is rare...if he's here then that must definitely mean something big is going to happen here.'_ Hestia thought with an inward frown. Of course it was to be expected as she was looking upon the ever mysterious deity who kept only to himself and his own race. It was _Bahamut,_ The God of the Dragons and Command-in-Chief of the Heavenly Armada's Draconic Division upon the Heavens. However he was in his human form, but the fact Bahamut was _here_ meant only one thing to Hestia and that was the fact that this meeting was much more serious then the last one.

Not that it helped that this meeting was 2 years early and was being held for an emergency.

''Now that we are all here, I believe it is time we get this meeting underway.'' spoke Izanagi bringing the attention of all the deities in the room to him.

 _'Well at least I know who called for this meeting now.'_ Hestia thought to herself as she watched the Shinto Great God stand up to address their attention.

''Now, I know you all may be wondering why this meeting has been called and so early from the normal 5 year cycle, but matters concerning the balance over the earth and it's inhabitants has taken much more importance as of late. Many of these matters have yet to be solved over the year's and some more _recently_ have arisen to be a troubling factor as of late.'' he said causing many to either frown or show no emotion whatsoever.

However Hestia's eyes narrowed at the small subtle heat in Izanagi's words.

''And where might we begin on these matters then? Not much has happened in the years to warrant a meeting this early, well besides the obvious of course.'' Odin spoke while a mirthful smile played across his face. His words however had the impact to cause the atmosphere to become even more tense.

Izanagi spoke again, unheeded by Odin's words. ''For one, the earth overall may be in a relative sense of peace besides the normal unsavory acts of criminal behavior and unwarranted savagery by many around the globe, but by the majority it's human expansion threatening the other races. Something we'll have to fix so their won't be racial tensions among the earth.'' he said causing some to nod, one being Inari who agreed with Izanagi at that.

Mankind was a highly populating race, more so then others and were always expanding to gather resources for their own. This threatened the borders of the other races cities, villages and Kingdoms. Which sparked tensions and battles to arise and to avoid a war it was needed that mankind either cut down on their territorial expansion or face the consequences.

''True enough and it doesn't help that one particular country Rakia is causing more problems around the world.'' Hephaestus spoke to which Thor gave a undignified snort.

'' _Rakia?_ That nation-type familia Ares controls? What concern are they? I'm more inclined to wonder why that familia and Ares haven't been crushed and properly dealt with by now. Have you softies in Orario been letting them roam free?'' Thor grunted in challenge to which Hestia eyes narrowed at the God of Thunder. His provocation, while unwarranted, was mostly correct in a regard.

Rakia, a nation-type familia that once counted of over 60,000 familia dependents. It's country lay across the border of Orario's territory and was built with a castle-like city with an even bigger castle to house the familia's Generals, King and their God, Ares. It was a familia that worshiped the God of War, Ares who loved to start wars and skirmishes. To fight, control and dominate other countries in the past. And at one point they had the power too, that is until they burned down several elf forests and angered the spirits of the world.

And the spirits came back with a vengeance and destroyed their main power structure, the ones who created the familia's most powerful weapons that to this day are still counted to be one of the most dangerous. The spirits cursed the Crozzo clan, a family of blacksmiths that were hired under the Rakia to forge for them magical weapons of massive power and destruction. The spirits destroyed the weapons and cursed the family from ever making them ever again.

From that point on Rakia lost their main fighting power and had been reporting on losing more then winning their War campaigns. Which struck true as they tried on more then one occasion to try and invade Orario which ultimately ended up in failure every single time. However every time they lost, they never received a true punishment and merely a slap on the wrist.

Well that is before _Hestia_ took the seat of the Chief Deity among the Olympian Gods, the one before her was her younger sister Hera, the wife of her younger brother Zeus and the mother of Ares himself. In all honesty, while Hera may be her sister, Hestia could only think of her as a _bitch_ because of her attitude when it came to mortals. She would stop at nothing when it came to mortals that crossed her or did something that offended her.

So it was no surprise that Hera was reluctant to give up her seat as chief deity to Hestia, but seeing as Zeus was nowhere to be found and the fact that Hestia had seniority over her by a long stretch. She wasn't about to truly annoy Hestia and gave up her position in search of Zeus.

And while Hera merely gave very light punishments to her son and his familia as Chief Deity, Hestia was not going to be so inclined to be as forgiving to her baby nephew.

''Trust me when I say this Thor.'' Hestia spoke for the first time bringing attention to herself in the process, but her unusually sharp blue eyes stared back into Thor's own. Her soft, but cold voice carried a hint of warning that put everyone their on edge. Know it or not, when pushed, Hestia would _push back._

''While Hera allowed Ares to go about his deeds with a slap on the wrist, I do not intend to let him do as he pleases anymore. That goes for _any deity_ under my pantheon. Such actions are the ones of a fool and as such he will be treated as the fool he is regardless of who he may be. If he attacks again, he and his familia will not escape unscathed, they will be _destroyed._ '' she said coldly, as if saying she would kill her own nephew wasn't even a big deal to her.

And it wasn't, contrary to popular belief, Hestia absolutely _loathed_ Ares from the deepest depths of her soul, while she could hate Apollo, Hera and any other just like anyone else. Ares was someone she just despised on principal alone. Ares was the God of War, he was a savage, muscle-bound man that held a thirst for nothing, but bloodshed, violence and overall chaos. Because of him families were torn apart, men were slaughtered, women no matter the age young or old were raped and defiled by Ares and his familia and children were either stomped out or forcefully recruited into his army.

If for any other reason then that alone Hestia would gladly unleash her power and completely eradicate him from existence, body and soul. It was an existence that she would be glad to be rid of from both the lower world and the Seven Heavens. Ares was a _mistake_ and she would rectify that mistake that her brother and sister conceived. To her, Ares was no family of her's and she would be glad to end him so he and his familia could no longer cause any more pain.

But it didn't end their, that wouldn't be the only reason she herself would kill Ares, there was also the fact that if he and his familia did attack Orario it would also run the risk of exposing Bell to the world.

And that was a confrontation she wanted the avoid the most of all, she knew Ares and she knew Bell and if both persons met, it would spell only one thing.

Destruction would undoubtedly ensue...

It would be the equivalent of a natural disaster...

For a moment the chambers were deathly silent that is before Thor finally averted his gaze, unable to keep meeting Hestia's own powerful blue orbs any longer. ''Well spoken...'' his comment was reluctant, but Hestia took it in stride regardless.

''Pretty words Hestia, but actions are more powerful then words and from the reports it'll take more then your word alone.'' Izanagi spoke causing her to glance at him as if asking him what he meant.

''I am inclined to agree, over the year's since his last attempt Ares has been gathering his forces and invading smaller countries and forcefully taking in anyone able to pick up a sword and pillaging the rest. His actions have only gotten more savage as of late and that says a lot for a man like him. Thus his numbers have swelled from the previous 60,000 to an estimate over 500,000 and _counting_.'' Odin said, frowning at his own words which had the impact to cause the entire chamber to go silent.

It could have been a graveyard from how silent the chamber became at that point, the shock was evident in everyone's face even for Freya and Bahamut's whose eyes widened marginally.

'' _...Has he gone mad?!''_ thankfully, it was Hephaestus exclaimed the general thoughts running through the minds of a few. However, Hestia remained stone faced even with this new bit of information thrown at her.

''Oh please, Hephaestus we all knew Ares was a little messed in the head. I guess all these defeats has finally pushed him over the edge and is trying to start a war with all of us.'' Apollo said with a shrug, but from the small amount of surprise in his face it was evident that even if he was a bit taken off guard by this.

''And that's not all there is to it...'' Izanagi said getting everyone's attention, there was _more?_

''What could be worse then Ares more then tripling his forces, Izanagi?'' Thor spoke causing the God to close his eyes as his expression morphed into a scowl.

''Lately, I've had Inari's foxes scouting his country and his war campaigns and it's come our attention that Ares has come into possession of a certain type of energy source. Inari can explain in more detail, if you please?'' he asked glancing at the Goddess who for once had a stony expression upon her face.

''Very well, from what my foxes have seen, the power Ares has somehow obtained is a mysterious source of energy the likes of which I have never seen before in my long life. However unlike the energy of nature that some of us are used to, this energy is... _foul_ in every sense of the word. It's pure corruption in liquid form and he's been using it as a means to enhance his soldier's combat ability through excruciating methods. The presence of it alone nearly killed my foxes, but it was stated the sheer amount of power jump given by this power is the equivalent of 10x times normal power for one dose alone.'' she said making every deity in the chambers eyes grow wide.

The sheer implications of what was just told to them...

''And what is this power? Is it a substance? How does it affect those affiliated by Ares and his grace?'' Hephaestus bombarded Inari with question after question that is until the woman rose her hand up.

''I am not entirely sure, Hephaestus-san, but from what I was able to understand the power Ares has obtained is a liquid that he injects into his soldiers, commanders and generals. I suspect it does affect the grace and falna he bestowed upon his familia that can fight, but that's not the worst of it.'' her eyes suddenly glazed over, as if she was haunted by something.

But a comforting hand from Izanagi on her shoulder ease away her small episode of fear to which she continued with a noticeable tremor in her voice. ''However...the liquid has a side effect that Ares has been taking full control over and that is...those injected with the liquid over time begins to fall into a state of degradation. They slowly begin to lose their minds, sanity and common sense are lost to them and friend or foe mean nothing to them. Then their body begins to break down and transform into... _something else._ It's a painful process, but in the end every single one of those that have been injected with this liquid have become...abominations...monsters in every sense of the word. Yet they still obey Ares command which only makes them far more terrifying then they would be without his command.''

….

….

 _Silence..._

That's all that could describe the chambers at that point...

''I-I see, so Ares intends to lead an army of over 500,000 super enhanced human/monster...things against the world? He's officially lost his mind!'' Apollo exclaimed loudly.

''Indeed, it is a troubling thought.'' Odin thought so as well with a grimace on his expression.

The thought alone that Ares was amassing such a force was surprising, but hardly enough to warrant them all to act besides crushing him when he attacked. However the fact he garnered a mysterious substance behind their backs and has been utilizing it by forcing it upon his familia to turn them into enhance human/monster hybrids was something altogether. _That_ coupled with the fact that he was actually playing smart and forcing smaller countries to bend to his will and join his force and pillage the rest that rebelled only added to the overall problem.

However...

 _''What of it?''_

 _Bu-bump!_

Then that shock that was building up over the course of the discussion was completely absolved and was replaced with a sense of something else, something _stronger_ then simple shock and apprehension. It was something far more instinctive, a primal thing every deity felt within their very souls.

It was _terror..._

It was a pulse, almost nonexistent in every sense of the word yet the pulse was felt by every single deity in that chamber. Released by the will of one who would not hesitate to unleash it on just a whim. The words spoken by the entity that unleashed the bone chilling, blood curdling pulse of sheer raw _intent_ , was none other then Hestia for whom their eyes were drawn too.

However, her face was devoid of any emotion whatsoever, her eyes were colder then void of space and seemed soulless in every sense. Any sense of light was gone and all that was left was a deep chilling dread that went down the spines of everyone in the room. Her posture was casual, almost uncaring of the events happening, but her eyes spoke of something else altogether.

The deities shifted in their seats uncomfortably, Bahamut finally took notice as he narrowed his eyes and even Thor straightened up in his seat.

''Ares can amount whatever forces or power he likes, but in the end should he come and try to attack Orario or any major territories of any other pantheon. I will _personally_ see to it that he suffers for it. Ares will die and so too will his familia should they even make an _attempt_. You have my word as the _last direct blood primordial descendant,_ that I will personally rip out Ares heart and crush his familia with my own two hands.'' she said spoke with the most seriousness that could be mustered from her soul. It wasn't out of duty she would do this, but on sheer principal and to, above all else, make sure Bell and Ares never came in contact with one another.

And by swearing on her rather particular bloodline would cement this, their was a reason why Hestia was so well regarded and so feared among the Seven Heavens. And that was because she was the _firstborn_ of the Titans Rheas and Cronus and when she was eaten by her father first, she inherited the blood of the ancient race of the Primordials. The race of the _true_ Gods, the true almighty entities that lorded over all of creation. Cronus was the youngest son of the primordial Gaia and by extension that made Hestia a primordial direct descendant.

And she knew _exactly_ how to utilize her power, which was also why she was a pacifist by nature just because the power alone was just too strong to completely control.

Her declaration silenced the other deities for the longest moment, that is before Bahamut finally broke the ice.

''If you can make such a bold declaration to swear on your own primordial blood then I don't see why we can't trust this matter to you. However keep in mind Hestia, you will have my support for when the time comes, me and the armada will be ready should the time come.'' Bahamut said with a respectful nod to which Hestia returned with a slight small.

''Thank you very much, Bahamut.'' said Dragon in disguise merely nodded.

''Very well, we'll leave you to deal with Ares if he attacks again and with Bahamut's help in addition to the armada being granted you should have no problem. You will have temporary permission to unleash your power, so do it how you see fit Hestia.'' Izanagi stated with agreements coming from most of them.

''Well then, now with that settled I believe it's time we got to the last matter at hand. I believe the time has come to deal with our mysterious adventurer at large, _Diablo._ '' spoke Izanagi once more.

Once he said that name, the tense atmosphere that was going down suddenly shot up at an all time high. If the uncomfortable atmosphere from Hestia's earlier declaration was striking, then the air in the chambers just now went beyond that in terms of how uneasy it became.

Hestia's eyes imperceptibly narrowed by the smallest amount at Izanagi's words, her right eye twitched as she watched all the deities pay ever close to attention this time around. _No one_ was stupid enough to ignore something as important as this. Every sat up ram rod straight and all their eyes were glued on Izanagi, ready to discuss about the subject that's been looming over them for so long.

 _'And so it has come to this...'_ thought Hestia as she watched the meeting begin on the last and the cause for which the meeting has become so erratic as of late.

'' _Ah~ Yes...Diablo_...How could we forget such an important matter, from what I know he's been making all sorts of ruckus as of late.'' Apollo stated with a wave of his hand. To which Hephaestus gave a small nod though her cheeks were a tad pink at the most recent event of what the esteemed adventurer had done. She had put a notice up strictly for him, not as a Goddesses but as a customer that wanted a specific rare item. At first she didn't really think he'd accept anything from a Goddesses, but lo and behold he did and completed it.

Granting her with a legendary material beyond the rank of SSS, an Elder Dragon's horn alone was worth more then most of what the city of Orario could must up in a years time. But the worth of it to one who could use it as a base for crafting weapons and armor made it more valuable then an entire country. The fact the estranged adventurer had not only taken it up and completed it for a Goddess only added to the overall mystery.

 _Who was Diablo?_

Thor on the other hand merely gave a grunt to his fellow deities. ''So it's come to him again? I swear he's proven to be far more elusive then any other I've ever seen. It's been 6 year's since he appeared and ever since then he's been making quakes all over the world with his deeds in the labyrinth. If he wasn't such a troubling element I'd like to fight the man myself.'' Thor commented, let it be known. Thor was a God of Strength, born and raised among a pantheon of warrior's and trained the warrior people of Asgard. As such he respected strength above all else and Diablo has proven to have strength in spades.

He understood the danger Diablo possessed, but he also respected the man for his strength and would like nothing more then to fight him himself.

''Be that as it may, Diablo is a danger to everyone around him and to the world. Through his actions, through his very existence he threatens to destabilize the very world.'' Izanagi stated to which Hestia twitched again though she held back the scowl that oh so wanted to appear on her face. Damn what anyone else said, Izanagi was speaking as if Bell was an actual danger.

And that rightfully _pissed her off!_

''I'm not so sure Izanagi, the man has yet to do anything to smite us directly and has only been delving into the labyrinth for most of his career. Sure, his sudden rise to the world was a surprise to us all and his power is an even bigger unknown, but has he _really_ done anything to warrant our hand?'' Odin questioned his fellow chief deity to whom let a small sigh.

''It's not that I don't understand where you're coming from Odin, but the fact of the matter is we know next to nothing about Diablo. His power is a mystery to us, how strong is he to be able to travel into the labyrinth on his _own_ and come out victorious every time? No mortal on this earth has that amount of power nor should they have such power! We know nothing about him, his existence is a mystery to us, every time I hear about him I think is he a flight risk? Will he explode at some power and lash out? Will the power go to his head and suddenly flip the world upside down? Why do you think we gave him that alias 6 year's ago? He is walking catastrophe waiting to happen!'' unusual to his normally stoic character, Izanagi exclaimed his frustrations for the other deities to hear.

A sigh was heard and the God turned to see Freya was seen rubbing her temples just before she gave him a cool stare that could have froze even the blackest of souls. For the first time since the meeting began, Freya relayed her own opinion on the matter.

''You named him Diablo because of the kind of threat he supposedly represented? You actually _think_ Diablo-san has any sort of threat significance to _that_ monster don't you?'' in a rare display of anger Freya spat back against Izanagi that surprised them all, Hestia included.

The Goddess looked toward her friend with a suspicious look and yet Hestia could find no ulterior motive then to simply defend Diablo, and by extension Bell. It was surprising to say the least and a bit...comforting that she wasn't alone this.

The monster of which they spoke of though was a troubling aspect in of itself as it was the very being that scorned the Seven Heavens themselves. For at the early age of creation, this monster in particular was the archenemy of the Gods themselves. The entity was a creature of such evil that not even the most holy of the Heavens could withstand it's corruption. It was the antithesis of the deities in every sense of the word. It's power was beyond them, it's sheer essence was like it came from the void itself.

It was a creature of hell, the epitome of what it meant to be a monster, it was the original entity that which felled the Gods and brought down chaos among the universe...it was...

 _The Devil..._

Inari spoke up though just as Izanagi was able to retort. ''I see where you're coming from Freya and I agree it _is_ a bit outlandish to think he would represent that _thing_ , but you can't ignore the threat he represents. We know nothing about his power and worse still he's been able to hide from all the Gods and Goddesses in Orario for 6 _years._ Not only that he has been delving into the labyrinth on his own, he is the singular existence on earth that knows more about the labyrinth then anyone else. And the more he delves into it the closer he comes to learning the truth of what lay inside.'' Inari explained.

This caused many to shift uncomfortably once they realized that fact, while Hestia and to her growing surprise Freya frowned in response.

The truth was, the labyrinth was more then a simple dungeon that lay beneath the city of Orario. The labyrinth itself was very much alive as in ancient times before mankind came to fruition and before the birth of the many other Gods and Goddesses. The labyrinth was in fact a monster in of itself, a monstrous entity of unparalleled power. It was a creature of such size that only a planet could house it's body which was why, in the stories, the last of the Primordials defeated it in battle and cast the entity into the core of Gaia who sealed the creature within her body.

And to keep watch over it, the Seven Heavens established a direct eye over the spot and over time the city of Orario was built over the spot to keep watch over the spot. And over time that entity become known as simply, the _labyrinth._

However since then, people have become brave or foolish to travel into the entrance of the labyrinth. To feed upon their desires for fame, glory, wealth and power and began to venture forth into the dungeon where all sorts of spawns birthed from the entity. At the beginning the Gods and Goddesses among the Heavens didn't seem to care as mortals at the time never had the power to go too deep. However, over time their children began to grow strong and develop more destructive methods to fight and since then a decision was made.

That decision was to come down from the Heavens with the original purpose to keep a tight watch on their children so they didn't go _too deep._ Masking that purpose as a means to experience life as a mortal by locking away their power when in truth it was to keep watch in case anything was to happen.

And yet something happened regardless of their efforts...a mysterious adventurer showed up 6 year's ago from out of nowhere and simply started to break through the labyrinth with an alarming speed. It was an existence that went against everything they tried to stop.

And that...was Diablo...

''We would have known had he reached the 90th floor, but he has yet to reach that part as of yet and we don't even know if he will. Besides how can you judge him without even knowing who he is?'' Hestia finally spoke causing Izanagi to frown and Odin to run his hand through his ridiculously long beard.

''You may have a point, but if I recall you defended him the last time we had this discussion. Which begs to question why are you defending this adventurer? He resides in Orario, but little to no one knows where he resides and out of all the Gods and Goddesses you have been the most vocal in defending this entity. Why is that, Hestia?'' Izanagi asked, his gaze peering back onto Hestia who remained completely stone faced even when faced with the scrutiny of the few deities who questioned her.

''I merely speak my mind, I am not one who fears another simply based off what he has done and what he can do. I'm not like _you_ Izanagi, I'm not so overly cautious as to suddenly lock up such a potentially powerful entity who could offer so much to the world. He has done nothing to spite me and through his actions he has actually made Orario become an even more booming city for adventurers. That's why instead of trying to capture him, I support him, which is why I find this entire argument about him to be completely ridiculous.'' Hestia spoke her mind on the matter.

Which was true, she found this entire argument completely idiotic. After all, Diablo was Bell and Bell was _not_ like anything of which Izanagi suspected him to be. From the moment she found Bell all those years ago she knew, deep down, that Bell was just a troubled soul that just wanted one thing that resonated in her own immortal soul. It is the very thing that which tied them so close together the moment they met.

He wanted family, he wanted to have _bonds_ , he wanted to have loved ones again so he wasn't alone in this world. That was all he ever wanted and when he began to gain friends, having her as his first and soon others he began to come out of the shell of who he once was. And to protect those friends so he wouldn't lose them, he went above and beyond every expectation to become stronger. To become the strongest, and to stand above everyone just so he could protect his family.

She understood this better then anyone else, she was the personification of family and through that she understood Bell more then most would think. It was why she loved the man he became, he became the exemplar of what it meant to be one who safeguarded family above all else.

He became like her, an entity that valued family above everything else. Duty, Honor, Loyalty, all of that was meaningless to him when family was involved.

And to see that other deities found him as a threat only ignited the fury within Hestia's soul. Bell has always sworn to protect her, but from the deities she would protect him.

''I am inclined to agree with Hestia he has done nothing to scorn the Heavens and none of his actions have directly or indirectly endanger anyone, but himself. And he has proven himself to be very capable of protecting his own life.'' Hephaestus came to aid her long time friend as she supported Hestia's decision to halt the other deities action to put their hand against Diablo.

And it also went unsaid that she supported Diablo personally because of all the materials he brought in from his travels from within the depths of the labyrinth. Some of those materials she had never even worked with during the Age of Heroes and Myth!

Just as Izanagi was about to retort, Freya to Hestia's surprise spoke up as well. ''I agree with them as well. You're assumptions about him are built upon false foundations of your own caution and paranoia. Diablo has done nothing to warrant our hand as of yet, and in all honesty he has been more of a boon for the world with his deeds causing many to look toward his example as a story of legend. Something we've not seen in centuries since the Age of Heroes and Myth long ago. And I for one will have _no_ hand in trying to shackle and or kill such a man. Someone like that is only worthy of respect as far as I am concerned.'' Freya said to the surprise of many.

And for a small sliver of a moment, Freya's purple gaze met Hestia's piercing blue orbs, and at that moment the Goddess flashed her a _true_ smile toward her. Which only made Hestia's eyes widen marginally, though she quickly masked this as fast as it came. However the alarm filled her body as Hestia quickly came to a realization that sent a jolt of shock throughout her body.

 _'S-she knows...Freya knows!'_ she could tell from just that one gaze, Freya _knew_ who Diablo really was. Her attempts to hide him from her proved to be entirely futile as the Goddess of Love seemed completely sure of who the adventurer really was.

And yet...

 _'She's protecting him...Freya's actually protecting him instead of actually trying to play this all in her favor...what's going on here?'_ it was a bit disturbing really, the way Freya defend Bell/Diablo with such fervor in her voice spoke volumes to Hestia that somehow or someway Freya found something in Bell to actually care enough to defend him. It was a bit uncomfortable to her to know that Freya knew, but at the same time...

It eased her to know she wasn't alone in this endeavor...

''Have you forgotten what he did 6 year's ago? The day when he shook the world when he did the one thing that should not have been impossible, something that no mortal should _ever_ have the smallest chance of doing. He killed what a God could not...he killed _Seath!''_ for the first time Izanagi lost his cool when he realized where the argument was heading. He just couldn't help it, in his eyes the children on the lower world, was just that, children, who knew nothing of the true dangers that lay above and beyond their world.

He had seen firsthand what power would do to those that received it, mankind was a fine example as those with power would become corrupted and those with absolute power would be corrupted absolutely. Kings and Emperor's would abuse their power and authority to get what they wished. The strong would rule over the weak and pillage what they wanted. He had seen civilizations rise and fall time and time and time _again_ because those of mankind with power would go down a path of sin just for their own selfish desires.

And now someone appeared with that kind of power and was making ripples all over the world and no doubt was causing havoc in the Heavens due to his actions. It was the very scenario that he _didn't_ want to happen, but there was those that just didn't see reason!

He didn't want any part of this, which was why he didn't want his pantheon to come down to the earth, but he was overruled by many of which that wanted to experience what their children experienced.

It was foolish...

However before they could retort, someone else did and to their surprise and even Izanagi it was none other then Bahamut who opened his eyes again only now they were _blazing_ with a fire of such intensity that it belied the true entity underneath that mortal shell. And in a move that surprised many, he stood ram rod straight and turned to peer directly into Izanagi's eyes with his own smoldering orbs.

''Izanagi, do not attempt to make light of what happened 6 year's ago. Whether you accept it or not is none of my concern, but the fact is that man did what I, the _God of the Dragons_ could not! He killed an enemy to the world and the Heavens and brought back Seath's corrupted heart as evidence to the battle. You can deny it as much as you wish, but I will not sit here and listen to you prattle on because of your misplaced paranoia. I am siding with Hestia and Freya in this matter, for that man has earned my respect and the gratitude of the entire Dragon Race among the peaks of the Heavens for what he has done.'' with his piece said, Bahamut turned around and stalked off.

That is before he met Hestia's surprised gaze and gave her a respectful nod before he left of his own will leaving behind a chamber of shell shocked deities and a flabbergasted Izanagi.

And then Odin broke the silence with a chuckle, ''Well I do suppose that ends that for now, how about we call this meeting adjourned for now? We'll schedule the next one in 5 year's time until then.'' Odin suggested getting a unanimous agreement from many as some of the deities had much to think over with the current matters thrown their way.

''Well if that is all then I shall be taking my leave.'' with that Hestia stood up and began to walk away, but as she passed a column she saw, to her increasing annoyance, Apollo leaning against it. His brown gaze _leering_ on her form like a hungry dog, shamelessly staring at her body like she was some form of art display.

She could feel the bile rising up in her throat from how much it sickened her...

''You know Hestia, from the way you spoke about Diablo, I was almost _almost_ inclined to think that you actually felt more for him then you would say. Don't tell me you actually _like_ that mongrel.'' spoke the Sun God, the thought alone that Hestia of all people, in his mind, actually liked someone that _wasn't_ a God was ridiculous by itself. She was the Maiden of the Olympian Pantheon, someones whose innocence could never be called into question due to her unbreakable resolve to never accept any attempts of courtships from her fellow deities.

She was untouchable, an object of desire and one of conquest that many of the male Gods in the Heavens sought after, but could never truly have. For her power alone would smite them down faster then they could even blink. Yet out of them all, Apollo never gave up because she was a quest that he simply would _never_ give up on. He was determined to have her, and if she actually showed interest in someone else just...

... _annoyed him..._

Hestia didn't even spare Apollo a glance as she gave a rebuttal that left Apollo frozen on the spot. ''I don't see how it is any of your business Apollo of whom I can or cannot like or love. You are not nor will you _ever_ be that kind of person to me. And besides...'' her smile turned absolutely cold as she walked away.

''I find Diablo-kun much more interesting then anyone else, he has shown to be more of a man then anyone I have ever met, and that especially means you too, Apollo. Compared to him in my eyes, you are nothing but _trash_ in the wind. Now have a good day.'' and without another word Hestia walked away with a slight skip in her step, feeling more then pleased with herself for letting off some steam.

The God on the other hand watched her go with shadowed eyes before he grit his teeth and balled his fist before slamming it against the column causing it to shatter into pieces. His normally brown orbs flickered into a shade of fiery gold as he watched Hestia go with disdain.

''That... _bitch!_ ''

 ** **OwO****

As Hestia made her way out of the chamber doors, she looked upon the night sky and for a moment she just stood there and took a breath of fresh air.

''Ah! It seems like it's been a few hours since the meeting began, and it seems like Ganesha's party is still going pretty strong too.'' Hestia commented lightly as she looked down from the building to see below her the large gathering of the other Gods and Goddesses partying just before the Monsterphilia that will begin tomorrow.

Giving another sigh, Hestia toward the edge and sat down reveling in the cool night breeze that blew past her. Her long black hair blew in the breeze as she looked upon the city of Orario with warm eyes. Then she reached upwards to her chest and she closed her eyes in content as her hand went to her heart as she finally calmed herself.

 _'It seems in the end your resolve did help me come out of this Bell...'_ the thought of the man she loved wiped away all the uneasiness she felt from the meeting before her. Even with the threat of Ares and his forces looming in the depths of her mind, it was pushed to the farthest and lowest levels of her mind as something far more important came to mind.

She wanted to see him...

Her body was _burning_ to see him again, while she saw him everyday and was almost always held in his arms. Right now, after everything that happened in the meeting, all she wanted to was go back home and fall right into his arms. To feel the comfort in knowing that after all that's happened, all that's going to happen, she could feel content in knowing that Bell was just fine. That he was _safe._

Unfortunately fate was never a kind woman to deal with let alone tempt...

In a fluctuation in the air Hestia looked up only to close her eyes when a brief flash of white appeared before it disappeared just as quick. When she opened her eyes again she felt a weight in her hand and when she looked at it her eyes widened when she saw what it was.

It was a letter with a particular feather that she was very familiar with...

''Hermes? Why's he sent me a letter?'' It's been a long time since she last heard from Hermes, but not because of any ill feelings. Hermes was just a very busy God who acted as a direct liaison with her younger brother Zeus and the other Gods among the Olympian pantheon. Among most Gods, Hestia held a somewhat docile friendship with the Messenger as, while he was a pervert and an idiot, he was still a good friend regardless.

Curious and a bit apprehensive of the letter though, Hestia unfolded it and began to read it's content.

….

Slowly her eyes began to widen and once she finished the letter slipped from her numb fingers as the words on the letter began to settle in her mind.

''No...''

 _'Hestia...I must speak with you urgently, a matter has arisen that demands your attention...'_

Her blue eyes began to water as the cold, dark realization of what the letter said began to settle.

''No...please no...''

 _'...It's about your young friend, the young man called Bell...he's been hurt Hestia...'_

The control over her powers began to slip as her tears began trail down from her eyes and fall from her face.

''No...no...no...no no no no no no no no no!''

 _'...There is no easy way to say this Hestia...but Bell...Bell is_ _dying_ _Hestia...'_

 **''NO!''**

What followed was quite possibly the most terrifying to have ever been seen, following Hestia's scream of anguish, her power slipped from between her fingers and it erupted into an iridescent pillar of power that _split_ the sky in twine. The city of Orario itself _trembled_ as the very Heavens themselves were split from Hestia's eruption of power. No, it didn't stop there as the entire _world_ felt the aftershock of that blast.

And then...then the world knew the power of Hestia's sorrow...

And all that was left behind when Hestia vanished in nothing more then a flash of blue was a multitude of Gods and Goddesses left in complete disarray. All the while watching from around the corner Freya's purple gaze watched Hestia go with a suspicious gaze.

''Hestia...'' worry overcoming her, Freya disregarded the law entirely and vanished as well...

Intent of following Hestia and finding out the source of her distress...

Yet...why did her heart _ache_ so?

 _'I've got a very bad feeling about this.'_

She had no idea...

* * *

 ** **And done!****

 ** **Whew! That took longer then expected, but I knew this chapter would be a bit longer then most others because of all the stuff I wanted to shove into it. So yeah, I made the Council Meeting far more descriptive then what was originally intended. Why? Because of the plot baby! The PLOT!****

 ** **So, yeah I went into a lot of detail on certain matters just because I felt it needed to be brushed upon and I felt this was the best place to do it. I added more true mythological elements while adding my own twists here and there so there is that.****

 ** **Also, don't expect me to keep making these long chapters, they are very rare and I rarely do them because of how draining it is.****

 ** **Now, what's wrong with Bell? Well you'll have to find out next chapter, which is going to be AWESOME!****

 ** **Now before I go and answer some reviewers questions let me once again thank you all for the support, it is very much appreciated and it keeps me motivated to keep going!****

 ** **So with that said let's begin!****

 ** **Replies to Reviews:****

TykkMikk **:** ** **It wasn't actually a power up that I randomly pulled out of my ass, what happened to Bell has meaning which will be explained in the next chapter or if not the chapter afterwards. The eyes themselves are not a sudden thing, he's actually had them as I have left subtle hints to this throughout the story.****

mark . zhang .12: ****Yeah everyone seems to have come to the same realization concerning Syr. As for the black thing, I can confirm it was neither the Shinju or Black Zetsu, I can say that for a FACT.****

enigma95: ****I prefer dark stories as I just can't take a story seriously when it's about bullshit random ass pulls like friendship and other such nonsense. I've planned this pretty far actually, but this is delving into my own plot while taking elements from canon into the mix. And favorite female characters in Danmachi? Easy. 1: Hestia, 2: Aiz, 3: Freya.****

Ryder93: ****Your question will be answered in the next chapter, I guarantee you that.****

snowyassas1n: ****I believe this chapter answered your first question as for the second, who knows, hm?****

A Chaotic Undertaking: ****Who knows? You could be right. You could be wrong. :)****

Chronostorm: ****Yeah I'm not aiming to follow canon at all, I want to make my own story not an alternate copy and paste. Yes, I love mythology, it's been one of my hobbies since I was a child so I felt this story deserved justice with some true mythological facts mixed in. As for Bell's power...oh trust me...he's got his work cut out for him.****

code R.R: ****All I will say about the purple tattoo's is that...there is meaning behind it!****

Withdranwnmadness000: ****I didn't want to make the meeting that simplistic as Hestia making threats or causing bloodshed, oh no I wanted it to be more complex as it is a meeting between Deities. No it was not Indra that was watching over Bell as for who took him? Who wears a hat with a feather in this series?****

 ** **And that's all the reviews I'll be answering, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter now I'm gonna take a nap and work on the next one. Till then, I hope you all have a good day!****

 ** **Ja'ne!****


	6. The Mystery of Bell Ōtsutsuki Pt 1

**Ok...before you try and kill me, let me clarify why I was gone for so long. You see, for the past few months I've been undergoing a lot of changes in my life recently, I've been over sea's studying and been dealing with some family issues that have demanded my attention. It's taken up a lot of my time, but thankfully it's been settling down as of late with the holiday's rolling around. So I've finally been given enough time to come back and update this story for you guys.**

 **So, I humbly apologize for not being here. (Bows)**

 **Now onto the last chapter's questions, I've been asked as to when the Naruto crossover will officially appear and I've been putting that into work as the chapters have progressed. And I am happy to announce that this and the next chapter will involve a majority of some major Naruto crossover elements put into it.**

 **Also got questions as to what happened to Bell, what were those marks? Who was that black figure? Who was the other guy? The last one should be pretty obvious to those that have watched the series. But to those questions I will answer a few down below, but till then, sit tight and GET READY!**

 **With that said, let's get on with it!**

* * *

 **The Epic of Bell Ōtsutsuki**

Chapter 5: The Mystery of Bell Ōtsutsuki Pt 1

Aiz Wallenstein was not sure what to make of the scene she was seeing right now. Her golden orbs were looking upwards into the sky with a clear expression of shock and a little bit of apprehension. The city around her was no better as many of the civilians were stuck in a state of bewilderment and some in absolute fear at what they were all seeing. Some had even come running through the streets raving and screaming about how the end of the world was nigh and that the apocalypse had come.

And honestly, Aiz couldn't really blame them...

Because it wasn't everyday you felt an eruption of so much power that it froze your very soul in place and made you _stop_ on principal alone. It wasn't everyday you felt an earthquake that rocked the entire city of Orario or even the aftershock being felt across the world. It _wasn't everyday_ you saw your normally casual if a bit crazy Goddess break out into a cold sweat muttering about stupid loli boobs and who pissed off said loli.

It also wasn't everyday in your life that you saw the sky split itself in twine, it looked like someone had taken a large claymore and split the Heaven's in two. Truly, as she looked up into the sky she, hell probably all of those in the country could have seen the spectacle. The skies were split, the clouds were wiped away and nothing, but the vast empty darkness of space beyond their planets atmosphere could be seen clear as day to them all.

And that _terrified_ her.

Rightfully so, in that regard, as before it happened she was on her way with Bete, Tione and Tiona, the amazon sisters, Lefiya Viridis, and their captain Finn. Taken in stride by their Goddess Loki to pay respects for those that died in the dungeon and take responsibility for what happened by whatever punishment was deemed necessary by the Guild officials. Even as popular as the Loki familia was, not even they were beyond punishment, especially after what they had caused. The deaths of those unfortunate adventurers caught by the rampaging minotaur's weighed heavily on their conscious, especially her own. They created that incident through ignorance and pride and for that people _died._

That was a mistake that they would all carry, but it was more so for herself, it was like a parasite that latched onto her and was gnawing on her insides, reminding her of the consequences of what she, and by extension her familia caused.

And it certainly didn't help her in particular when she found that among the survivors of the incident had also been the one man she's been searching for this whole time. The one man who became her desire to meet, had been there to see her and her familia's mistake first hand. Their first meeting after so long had been in the middle of a mistake caused by her familia and as such left her very shaken once that particular fact settled in after meeting settled down.

Was he mad? Oh there was little doubt about that after that display he left on the 6th floor that day, the overwhelming pressure and anger he let loose on the floor had been clear enough that he was not, in any sense of the word, pleased with them with what happened. From the moment she felt that presence, from the moment she turned that corner and felt him walking by her had left her with a particular impression that.

Diablo, the young boy with wavy ethereal white hair and glowing crimson eyes, was _furious_ with her familia and by extension her as well.

That particular fact struck a chord in her that left Aiz anguishing on her own, though she hid it from everyone. It was a painful feeling, knowing that the one she desired to see, to meet and standing side by side with, was _angry_ with her.

And as she stood there, looking up into the torn up heaven's and into the black void of space from where she stood upon the earth. For one reason or another, she felt a phantom warmth course through her once she pictured his appearance through from both incidents of when she young and just a day ago when he saved her again. The feeling of his hand ruffling her blood soaked golden hair and his words left the young woman in wanting, yearning for it again. Now that she had a face for those crimson eyes, she could give life to the image of her hero. And though he may be angry with her...

" _ **You're safe now."**_

" _You've grown very beautiful and very strong, little angel."_

His words had left Aiz Wallenstein needing, to see him again was becoming an increasingly powerful desire that was eclipsing most of her other objectives. But strangely, that desire seemed to have grown too strong now that her golden eyes stared upwards into the stars of the expanding galaxy beyond their planet. Of the cataclysmic result of what appeared to be a Goddesses power lashing out had been the catalyst that made her heart thrum within her chest painfully. Beating in such a way that it sent painful ripples throughout her whole body.

 _Why..._

Her hand snaked upwards to her chest, directly over her heart, and she squeezed as her golden orbs looked up into the worlds beyond their own. And the sea of pitch blackness that encompassed them all. The seemingly endless vast dark reaches, the darkness of space that seemed to threaten to swallow her whole the longer she stared into it.

 _Why did looking up there, remind her of him?_

There was a motion of her Goddess Loki speaking with their Captain before she disappeared in a flash of motion, momentarily unleashing her own godlike power to find out what was happening. Yet that was all a blur to Aiz as she wrenched her eyes shut, to close off the entire world as the pain in heart began to grow too strong.

 _Why...was she feeling so much pain?!_

In a flash, a memory struck her and she was left seeing in her minds eye, in the depths of her mind she could see his face appearing before her.

….That was all that needed to be said to explain to her of what this pain was. It told her why she was in such anguish. It didn't seem plausible that she knew this or even how she came to learn this, but she knew it to be true.

It was because something happened to him, something happened to _Diablo,_ as impossible as it may seem.

Her hero was in _pain!_

 _'Please...'_ softly, she prayed to whatever or whomever may listen her.

 _'Please...don't die!'_

 **OwO**

….

…..

…...

… _.falling..._

… _..fal-bzzzt_

… _.I..._

 _I..am..._

 _fall...ing..._

 _i..n..to..._

 _... **darkness.**..._

 **OwO**

There was a certain level of anxiety that could have been felt within the chambers of an abandoned church on the outskirts of Orario. It was an old decrepit thing, unrecorded by Orario's architectural record keepers. It was left untouched by the hands of man, overgrown with vegetation and home to other forms of natural wildlife. And yet, in the thick forestry, it was the perfect hiding spot for a particular set of individuals.

And yet that tranquil atmosphere mattered little when they all felt the tremor that exploded all the way from Orario, even when they were miles away from it's outer walls. From how the earth the shook, the skies were torn asunder and how the winds screamed in agony was all they needed to know.

He was certain, he had officially _fucked up._

Running a hand through his wavy sandy blonde hair, the Messenger of the Greek pantheon and old friend of Zeus and Hestia, Hermes, gave out a worried sigh.

''Oh boy, I did it now...'' muttering to himself, but it was heard from his familia dependent and personal assistant whom added in her own opinion on the matter at hand. It was a woman with cyan colored hair with a single streak of white of her bang which was swept to the left. Her cyan eyes were curt and stoic, but the bead of sweat that was slowly falling down her cheek proved otherwise that she was far from unaffected by the power unleashed just now.

''You should have realized how Hestia-sama would react to your letter, Hermes-sama." she stated causing the Messenger God to let out a frustrated sigh.

''I know...I know... _I know!_ But there is little I could have done Asfi, the letter was stating only the facts, the boy _is_ dying, but from what? _Only Zeus knows at this point_...'' the blonde let out a sigh of frustration once again while Asfi looked toward her God with a what seemed like a worried glint in her eyes.

Hermes knew he could have done things differently, to try and break it to Hestia a little easier and more subtle then he had. But there was little time, Zeus had made it _perfectly_ clear that they were walking a very fine line and worse still were on a time limit. Zeus had been the one who sent him to retrieve his grandson and made to watch over him after what happened to him. It was as if the man knew what as happening to the boy and took precautions that he was looked after until the time was right.

But what confused him was that Hestia was a priority to have to save the boy yet for what reason he couldn't understand. He had _seen_ _the blood_ that was as of right now staining the inside of that abandoned church. There was no one, on the lower world or in the Heavens that could have been able to describe whatever pain that boy went through. Let alone be able to experience and come out alive and in one piece.

It was almost like he...exploded from the inside out from all that blood he had seen in there. And even though he had found him unscathed, that didn't mean the boy wasn't in pain still. It was just the _type_ of pain that he was in. From the moment he retrieved him and brought him here, he had been in a comatose state. Completely non-receptive of the outside world and held no alertness to anything that was happening.

Stranger still, he couldn't sense any of the _supposed_ energy Zeus told him Bell held within him. When he searched for any signs of the energy he just felt _nothing_ , not a spark nor an ember of this power he was supposed to have. Hell if he hadn't seen the boy breathing awhile back and hadn't seen him with his own two eyes, he would be sure the boy didn't even there.

He was just _there...existing._

 _Suuuh~_

Suddenly, he felt a sudden shift in the wind and faintly he clenched his jaw firm before turning his head to the side, his eyes narrowed for only a moment before nodding his head. ''Asfi, go and check up on him.'' for a moment he received a look from the woman before giving a nod. And as she walked off and turned the corner that went downstairs into the basement Hermes let out a sigh.

''Please let me explain myself before you skewer me, Hestia-sama.''

He said this as a sudden shift in the wind dispersed and appearing in a fluctuating shimmer of a multitude of colors revealed a rather startling scene for anyone that had been in the room at the time.

Hermes stood there, solid as a statue, the exemplar of calm while a giant phantasmal sword formed from celestial fire was mere inches from skewering his head completely through. Being within inches of piercing his skull from the back. The flames alone were already shattering his own divine protection and would in the twitch of motion end his immortal existence forever more. Owner of said sword on the other hand shimmered into existence before Hermes own eyes.

It was Hestia, though if anyone that knew her prior to now wouldn't believe it was the same fun loving Goddess they knew. No, the woman that stood before Hermes at that moment was the very same Goddess who put the fear of the Primordial's into any God or Goddess that were stupid enough to cross her. Her once innocent vibrant blue eyes had taken on a icy hue that revealed nothing. There was no emotion in her expression besides a scathing hot fury that likes of which would put supernova to shame. And her once black midnight hair had changed into a glowing divine dark crimson which flowed around her back as if it were a mane of the very fire she commanded and embodied.

And right now the only thing that stood between Hermes and his obliteration was Hestia's patience which even then was small at this point in time.

 _''...3 seconds..."_

Though he hid it very well, there was a certain chill in her voice that sent a jolt of fear throughout his spine. He had no illusions of ever matching Hestia, especially when she was like this and would not push to tease her like he usually did. Oh no, his life was on the line at the moment and right now, friend or not, she would kill him if he didn't give her the information she so desperately wanted.

Without wasting a moment he raised his left hand while his right dug into his trench coat and carefully and slowly mind you, as to not warrant her to wrath. And before she willed the blade to completely eradicate his soul from the living world her eyes saw the scroll held in Hermes hand. And her eyes narrowed further when she sensed the energy coming off it, she knew that energy all too well for it was the very energy of her baby brother.

 _''Zeus...he sent you?''_ it was not a question, but a statement and one Hermes acknowledged with a nod.

''Yes, he sent me in his stead for this one purpose which concerns the boy that has come under your familia's grace.'' Hestia's eyebrow rose for an inch causing him to elaborate, the threat of total soul destruction still infact evident on his person.

''There is a great many things I don't know as of yet Hestia nor do you or any of the other pantheons of Zeus past dealings. But _this_ is something far above anything I've ever witnessed, he made it perfectly clear to me that this scroll is to only be seen by the boy you hold in your grace. Somehow, someway your elusive brother has been in contact with Bell, even before you knew him yourself. And from what I was told, all would be explained once this scroll reached his hands, and for better or worse, it would explain the abnormality I witnessed in your charge.'' he said causing her to frown at him in confusion before her thoughts turned to Bell.

Zeus had come in contact with Bell before? When? The only thing she knew was that Bell had been found and raised by his adopted grandfather since he was a newborn. That was it, it was bare bones in all she knew about Bell since it was all very little he himself had told her. The more she thought about it, her worry for him continued to grow until ultimately she pushed the thought away for now and spoke.

 _''Take me to him...''_ there was no confusing her tone, it was a demand and he complied and led her the same pathway. The phantasmal sword dispersed into flickering embers as they walked on ahead. But along the way, they missed a shadow turn the corner into the building and followed them as they walked down into the same path as Asfi had earlier.

''I'll need to warn you beforehand Hestia, while I did get to him in time, he was in a rather...peculiar situation.'' he said causing her to internally worry about her beloved, but held only a stern expression on the outside to hide her true thoughts.

 _''Explain your meaning, Hermes.''_ she asked making the messenger sigh before scratching the back of his head.

''To be blunt? It looked like he _exploded from the inside out._ How I know this is simple, his blood is currently coating the entire interior of the abandoned church you and him have as your home. It looked like a painting from Hell, Hestia.'' he said noting the fact that Hestia faltered in her step as her eyes flew wide open at the words spoken to her.

 _'What...'_ that couldn't be true, as far as she knew Bell never showed any signs of having problems with himself. Hell the last time she saw him off was earlier today when he went off to complete a quest in the labyrinth. At that time he had been perfectly fine and she had even checked his body by reaching out through the grace she bestowed on him. Yet there had been no sign of abnormalities.

So why did what Hermes say fill her with so much dread?

The very thought alone of Bell being hurt filled her with so much pain, so much anguish, that it dug and cut into her immortal soul. Yet she knew his strength, she _knew_ how powerful Bell was even when it was obvious he was hiding some of his strength from her. She had seen the accomplishments he's achieved. She has seen the _scars_ from all the life or death battles he has had to endure time and time again every night. She remembered the night he came back, covered in injuries and soaked in his blood, carrying the heart of Seath on his shoulders. That thought alone brought an ache to her heart, but it filled her with relief to know that he would always _always_ come back out of the labyrinth and into her embrace.

He would not die...

 _He had sworn to her an oath upon his very soul that he would not die!_

 _ **...Yet why did she feel so hollow...**_

It took only a moment before they arrived at the basement of the building and once they reached the large oak door Hermes stopped at it and gave Hestia a glance who was just staring at the door. Frozen, timid and truly afraid to see what was on the other side.

Taking a good, a very _good_ , look into Hestia's eyes for that briefest of moments caused Hermes to sigh internally. He didn't think it was true, that what Zeus told him was just blustering talk, full of big empty with little truth to them. But as he looked at Hestia he could not see a shred of lies in Zeus words now that he saw her. To see _the Hestia_ to have fallen so hard for someone, a man at that was not just astonishing, it practically broke the very fabric of reality when it came to the Gods and Goddesses.

Hermes prided himself on being a very good judge of character and he had been friends with Hestia and Zeus throughout their life's. And while she acted mostly indifferent during those times, when he saw her now and what Zeus told him was true.

Hestia was in love with her one and only familia dependent...

That solid fact would have been enough to cause a major incident among the other deities for romantic relationships between Gods and Humans had been irrevocably forbidden since the end of the Age of Heroes. It was first brought on by Zeus and his giant libido who laid with many human females who brought forth the Era of Heroes which birthed a great many legendary warriors such as Hercules, Theseus, Perseus, Achilles, Odysseus and even Hector. Just them alone was born from the Greek Pantheon, that wasn't even considering the other Heroes of legend from the other pantheons.

Yet the reason it had been forbidden at the end of that era was because all those Heroes nearly brought the entire Lower World to it's knees in warfare. Thus, when the last of that ancient heroic bloodline diminished it was set in stone, that no God or Goddess would ever lay with a mortal and spread divine blood into the mortal gene pool no longer.

And yet, that one iron clad rule mattered little to Hestia, that much he could discern without much effort.

Sighing, he pushed the door open before walking inside with Hestia behind him. Going inside, he saw doing an annual check up on the condition of the boy. Upon seeing them, Asfi calmly walked toward them and offered a bow to Hestia who was frozen in place once she saw Bell in the middle of the room. Laid down on a bed, his entire body laid before her very eyes.

She didn't even wait as she walked toward him as Hermes and Asfi watched her go. Than he glanced her way, ''So, how is his condition so far Asfi?''

The woman let loose breath what he figured was her version of a frustrated sigh. ''His vitals are all stable, his heartbeat is fine, his breathing is normal and if there was any wounds we may have missed than they have long ago healed. In a physical sense, he is perfectly fine.'' she said causing Hermes to raise an eyebrow when he saw her rub her temples.

''..But?'' he asked causing her to look at the boy in the middle of the room with a look he'd yet to see before. It was one of study, to try and piece together a puzzle one had yet to solve and if he knew Asfi like he did than this truly was a puzzle that just brought in a whole new challenge.

''On the other hand, his mental state is entirely different. The amount of brain activity he's undergoing is staggering. It's similar to how one would be in a nightmare, but if that were the case than that boy is facing something so _terrifying_ that his brain has gone into overdrive, it's gone into a state of inner survival, sparking his bodily instincts just to survive. The only movement I can get from him is twitches from his fingers, hands, and toes. Plus his eyes seem to be shifting from side to side, normally seen in those experiencing intense dreams or, again, nightmares.'' she said, her words drifting to Hermes who simply frowned before nodding his head.

''I see.'' however his gaze followed Hestia who stepped toward Bell's bedside. Quietly he pulled out the scroll and walked toward her side.

Before her very eyes, Hestia bared witness to Bell's current situation, her eyes roamed his entire body, noticeably taking in the fact the very same clothing she last saw him in was in tatters. His boots were completely gone and his pants looked to have been torn leaving his right leg bare up to his knee and his leg up to his calve. His belt was loosely still wrapped around him, but his shirt was just barely hanging on. The only noticeable thing she saw was that on his shirt, there was a giant hole blown completely through, revealing the majority of his chest to her eyes.

This caused a cold shiver to run down her spine as Hermes words echoed in her ears.

 _'It was like he exploded from the inside out...'_

Her shoulders shook but she remained strong as he looked to Bells face and she saw him asleep, but his facial expression was unlike anything she'd ever seen when she see him sleep. It wasn't one of content or of being safe.

It was an expression of torment.

This was something all new to her, for as long as she's known Bell she had _never_ seen him shown any sign of pain, at least to her. He had always been the stalwart, vigilant exemplar of a Guardian. He was and had always been a crusader, a trooper that stuck through whatever was thrown his way, and he would wade through it all with sheer force of will. He'd never allow himself to show pain to anyone, especially those he loved and cared for.

Which made what she was seeing right now all the more terrifying for her.

What happened?

 _What caused this?_

 _ **Who was responsible for this?**_

 _'Oh...Bell...why...why did this happen to you?'_ internally she thought in distress as her hand cupped his cheek with all the gentleness she could give unto the one she loved.

 _Thu-thump!_

Suddenly she felt a pulse resonate from Bell's body and through her hand which soon traveled throughout her body and her eyes narrowed once she recognized what it was. It was the feeling of her grace she bestowed upon Bell resonating through his body and reacting to her touch. Feeling it's pulse, she ran her hand over where the pulse was originating and felt it being to steadily quicken. Inch by inch she reached until her hand as hovering just over Bell's chest, directly over his heart would be.

And the pulse had become to quicken to such a degree it was erratic, so much so that it was alarming to her.

 _'Sorry Bell.'_ With some form of hesitation, she ripped away the rest of his shirt, revealing to her what exactly it was she was feeling through her link with Bell. And what she saw made her eyes widen in alarm just as Hermes made his way to her side whom gave a small whistle once he saw what it was that had Hestia's attention as well.

''Well... _that's new.''_ he commented as he cautiously eyed the... _thing_ that had taken Hestia's attention.

The Goddess on the other hand was more than just shocked at this point, after seeing what was directly over Bell's heart, just above the flesh and muscle of his body. She became much more aware of the fact that whatever had happened to Bell was truly out of her own knowledge and or expertise.

 _'What in Heavens name is this Bell?'_ she could only think to herself as she and Hermes looked upon what was pulsing over Bell's chest. Directly over his heart was an overly complex sigil that was giving off a very bright white glow. The difficulty in understanding it was only matched by her and Hermes own confusion as to why it was there on Bell and what it's intended purpose was. Though the two had knowledge in some form of sigils used during the Age of Magic and Heroes, it was never something this complex.

It started off as one circle being the base of the sigil with two other circles inside it interlocking between each other. And deeper in the sigil were a total of 14 white and black triangles branching out from the inner sigil matrix which was a double-lined circle which had a underlapping pentagram shaped star which was overlapped by an even larger right-sided star. This bigger star reached out 5 points of the sigil between the second and third interlocking circles which connected to 5 smaller circles with each one having a kanji very reminiscent of the eastern nations of the lower world and each of the 5 were different in design and meaning. While finally at the very center of the sigil was another circle that went around the inner points of the overlapping star while within was descriptive lines broken down into sections of 8 within the circle and each having a different design from the other. And finally, at the very center was something that was both the most elaborate and quite possibly the most apprehensive thing of all.

It was a Yin/Yang symbol which seemed to be focal point as the glow was originating from there specifically and was only getting brighter in their eyes.

Taking another look at the sigil, Hermes eyes looked over each kanji and began to decipher what he could, going from one to the other. "Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning and Wind. The basic 5 elements formed from forces of Spiritual and Physical energy, Yin and Yang.'' he muttered to himself, causing Hestia to glance his way with a suspicious look. Though it came to no surprise to her that Hermes knew the meaning of those characters, among the Greek Gods, Hermes was the one who traveled the most among the Heavens and the Lower world. Building up diplomatic relations with the other pantheons among the Heavens and Kingdoms upon the Lower world which meant he had to learn multitudes of languages and other forms of literature to speak with different species and races.

However, the words he spoke at that moment confused Hestia, she knew the concept of Yin and Yang and the theory of how it came to be. They were the core elements that made up the 5 others. Light and Dark, the interdependent elements that corresponded with one other. When separated it wrought havoc and discord but together they brought completion and balance. Though the pantheons knowledge on it and how it connected to them as a whole was still after all these years a mystery unsolved, it left many theorizing for eons as to what it was and how it connected to the Gods and Goddesses. Some even said the Primordial's of Old were precursor's to the energy, but for how long the concept has been around, some figured it even predated them.

Which was pretty scary when you thought about it.

However, that mattered little to her at this point. The What or when had no meaning to Hestia at this point time. Asll that mattered to her, was the _why._

 _Why was this here?_

And if by chance Bell had known of this sigil, why hadn't he told her about it? There was very little she and him kept secret between one another, especially after all these years of living together. She knew Bell was different, that was an established fact which is why he underwent his split persona, to protect her and those he cared for. She knew of his _unique_ powers that outreached her own grace, and admittingly it did surprise her the first time she saw him perform the ability before her, but surely it wasn't enough to make him hide whatever he could possibly have now right.

Right?

But then, why did this have this very bad feeling there was more to it than that?

''I see...so this is what Zeus meant.'' Hermes words brought Hestia back and she glanced toward him and upon seeing her look he explained.

''As you know Hestia, I was sent here by Zeus, but the purpose of which was to check up on Bell and give something to him which is this scroll.'' he said while pulling said scroll from his coat. ''However, what you don't know is that Zeus wanted to know Bell's status and to report to him as soon as possible if I had found any sort of abnormalities, and from what I have seen till now, I think this all counts as one huge abnormality with Bell being the center of it.'' he said causing Hestia to frown once again.

There it was again, what was Zeus doing or even carrying about Bell? How did he and Bell know one another and for that matter why would he risk bringing himself out into the limelight for Bell? What was so important between Bell and her brother to make him do all this? The last time she had heard from Zeus was when his familia had been destroyed by the One Eyed Black Dragon and afterwards left Orario once the funeral proceedings had been completed. It had been year's since than and no sign of Zeus had been seen from anyone which left many pondering what the Elder God had been doing in his time.

It was a thought she idly pondered on before she shook her head, _'None of that matters right now, what does is Bell and what can be done to pull him out of this state he's in.'_ Hestia thought before she glanced at the scroll held in Hermes hand.

''So, what can be done Hermes? What did Zeus tell you to do specifically? Just tell me, and I'll do whatever I can to help.'' Hestia spoke causing the messenger God to glance her way before giving an odd expression.

''Well, from what he told me, I was to give this scroll to Bell, but since he's like this we'll have to go along with the second plan he made in case this happened. First off, I was to stand this scroll directly on Bell's heart, directly over this sigil and I would need a part of your power and a drop of his blood to activate the scroll. Or at least that's what Zeus told me.'' Hermes stated causing Hestia to scowl before her eyes went to the strange than to Bell which caused her eyes to soften considerably.

Let it be said, Hestia was willing to give up anything at this point just to have Bell open his eyes, to see him awake and alive was all she wanted at this point. She had already broken the ancient law to never unleash a Gods power in the lower world, but her concern for Bell was far stronger than any form of Law or Rule. Nothing the other pantheons dictated mattered to her at this point other than Bell's safety. She was ready to flip the Underworld in on itself, sunder the very Heavens and glass the very earth, all if it would help Bell.

Which is why when she heard the cost to help Bell right now seemed so very small it still made her cautious yet determined to go through with it.

However just as Hermes was about to place the scroll on Bell her hand snapped, grabbing hold of his wrist Hermes was stopped cold and made to glance worryingly into Hestia's eyes while Asfi stood uncomfortably in the back, unable to so much as move. Not only because of the fear she felt from Hestia, but because of the soul burning aura she felt coming off such a small body. It was staggering to a degree that it left the woman breathless, unable to even breathe as a burning pressure began to weigh down in the room.

Hestia's eyes flashed cyan as she stared directly into Hermes own orbs and spoke. _"I will do this, but if this, at all, backfires, friend or not Hermes,_ _ **I will kill you**_ _. Do you understand?"_ she said causing the dark blonde deity to gulp nervously before vigorously nodding.

''I understand Hestia.'' he said and even then the woman kept staring at him for the longest minute imaginable before seeming content with what she saw. Letting go of Hermes, she watched as he placed the scroll directly over Bell's heart, on contact with the sigil currently pulsing. Then he back away as she took Bell's hand and, offering a small apology to Bell, nicked his finger slightly causing it to bleed out. Though to her quiet amazement the wound instantly healed as if it never happened. Shaking her head, she took his hand and her free hand she channeled her power into the sigil which caused it to flash just as a droplet of his blood fell onto the scroll.

And than she, Hermes and Asfi watched in bewilderment as the blood soaked into the soaked which caused it to give off a strange aura, it was a misty coloration of white and black that was intermingling with one another. This continued before the scroll, amazingly enough, began to sink directly into the sigil on Bell's chest. Watching as it did, all of them felt a wariness take hold as the scroll sunk deeper into bell under it was completely gone.

''What now?'' Hestia asked causing Hermes to sigh before turning away.

''Right now? We wait and see, Zeus never told me what would happen afterwards, you can stay here and watch over him if you wish. But I must go and do damage control in Orario. We need to calm the people because it evolves into something we can't control.'' he said making her nod than he turned to Asfi.

''Asfi, go and tell the others that I'll be back soon.'' with that said he vanished a swirl of wind and with it Asfi took one last look at Hestia and Bell before bowing her head silently. Turning away, she too left leaving only Hestia and Bell alone in the room. Feeling them, the woman took hold of Bell's hand and brought it to her face. Only to frown in concern upon feeling the cold touch of his hand upon her cheek. Taking hold of his hand in hers, she kissed it before laying it down.

''Why don't you come out now...'' softly she spoke, though her eyes flashed smoldering cyan and her hair churned crimson as she turned to stare to the far corner of the room, where it was darkest.

 _''Freya?''_ her voice brought upon a chill that was a polar opposite to her righteous appearance. She watched impassively as the shadow branched out from the dark corner before it sprouted upwards into a humanoid form. Compressing and forming into the shape of a woman the shadows lifted into a robe of crow feathers that spread apart revealing the form of the Norse Goddess, Freya.

Her light silver hair flared, and her milky white skin gave birth to light in the darkness of the room she inhabited. Orbs of the most royal purple glowed with a sense of concern and urgency that only Hestia had ever seen for which they flashed to the young man before them to which they returned back to meet Hestia's gaze.

''Do not worry Hestia, I am not here to alarm the others of your location, I just...'' she hesitated for a moment before her eyes once again fell upon Bell. And to the surprise of Hestia, she saw the woman's eyes flicker in a emotion that she's only seen once before. It was when she looked at herself in the mirror every time she so much thought of Bell.

 _Love._

 _Pure affection in it's strongest form. Passion brought forth from the very depths of ones own soul._

 _'I knew it...'_ Though her heart clenched at the notion, Hestia closed her eyes before turning back to Bell giving an uncalled sign for Freya that she was welcome to come, and so she did. Coming to her side and so the two Goddesses looked upon the boy, the man of whom they had fallen for. In one way or another, Bell was under their protection now.

So come Heaven or Hell, nothing would come to harm him without going through them first.

And yet, nothing would ever be the same after this night.

 _For Darkness shall take hold._

 **OwO**

It happened in the blink of an eye.

He had been falling, falling through a sea of depravity, depression, anger, and sadness. Emotions of the bitter nature engulfed his being as he awoke to find himself among a sea of ebony that swallowed his very soul. Bits and pieces of who he was, what he was and why he was here broke apart as he fell into the abyss. A chasm that was never ending, a torture that prolonged his own suffering which would only end at the whim of the one who encroached inside the core of his being.

He had seen it all, the suffering, his pain, the mistakes of his past multiplied by a hundred was forced back unto his cracking heart with the force of a thrown javelin. There was nothing he could do, he was stuck there, frozen in perpetual motion of falling in an ocean of despair. A word, an emotion he knew all too well of. Despair was the cornerstone of his very existence, something of which that's been apart of his very being from the moment he was brought into existence.

He knew this, yet he told no one. Despair was his counterpart, his shadow that followed him wherever he goes. He was not free, shackled by the despair of his birth, of his existence, he questioned.

Why...

Why was he here?

 _Why am I alive?_

And as he asked this question for what felt like only thing he had ever truly asked within himself, he felt it would be the last time. Just before he would lose himself and then become something he was entirely not.

Yet, in the depths of those inky black waves, his answer was given just as the darkness blurred his vision and his body numbed to the cold touch of death.

" _...I love you..."_

In that singular instant, just as his eyes closed to eternal darkness, a bright white white pushed away the darkness with such a mighty heave that it was pushed down to the farthest corner of his soul. In turn, he awoke to find himself in a place that could only be described as.

 _Divine._

A sea of gold and white intermixed and formed below his feet in an ocean that spanned for as far as the eye could see. Clouds hung loosely above him as he seemingly stood upon the air as the sun in the background hung loosely over the horizon. Bathing the realm in a rich coloration of gold , orange and violet.

''W-w-where...'' finally, he found his voice for what felt like a lifetime only for it to freeze up once he felt _something_ behind him. Yet it was not a bad feeling he felt, nor was it one that made him tense up. It was one that was both alien to him and yet familiar to him in a sense.

Turning around, Bell found his eyes widening once his eyes fell upon the one who stood before him. Standing before him on equal footing, unlike that of an enemy, but more of one whose very soul sung out, longing for the touch of the other. And so it was, to Bell's utmost surprised, that his eyes fell upon a being that could only be described as.

 _Goddess._

It was a woman he saw, standing just below him by a few inches. Her body was bathed in a swath of white that reflected well the rays of the sun. Her clothing consisted of solely a transitional high-collared hime-kimono which was adorned with intricate lines that are gold and purple with a tomoe running down the center and edges of the gown. However, though flowing as it was, did little to hide the body of which even Aphrodite would be jealous of. Her skin was a healthy white which complimented her delicate facial features well. Her long sweeping white hair, much like his own, fell just below her backside. Her eyes however were much like the glowing full moon, bright, yet lonely, compassionate yet solemn. The only solace of those beautiful eyes was how they glowed with such an inner light that it left Bell blinking in disbelief.

How could someone be so beautiful?

Yet it was the third eye for which he saw that gave him pause, his own crimson eyes widened in shock as he looked into the lone eye on the woman's forehead which stared back at him as if it had a life of it's own. It was an eye he was all too familiar with, for it was the very same eye that he had kept secret from Hestia. It was the very same eye of which he gradually unlocked from his near death experience with Seath and his adventures in the Labyrinth. It was the lone maroon eye with a rippled pattern with 9 tomoe spinning ominously as it stared back at Bell.

Yet it did not stop there, for the last thing Bell noticed about the woman was the two brown horns sticking out from her head. Upon seeing those, Bell's eyes widened so greatly, they could only stare in a state of perpetual shock as the woman before him, eyes lit with all the love and compassion that only a being of her stature could ever give and more.

Her supple lips turned upwards in a small yet solemn smile that belied the beauty of the one who stood before him.

 _''My little one...you...you have grown so much... my beautiful, Bell."_ her voice was as heavenly as she herself appeared. The sound of Bells tolled as her voice echoed among the realm of which these two solitary figures stood.

And it was, in that moment, Bell knew everything was going to change...

 **OwO**

He never did like coming here, not for the fact that the Underworld was completely forbidden to the deities existence to all besides he who rules it. It was just an ugly place to him. A cesspool of sin and filthiness that was above his stature. He was like a beacon of light in this dark and dreary place, a torch that attracted the less than unsavory sort toward him only to burn in the intensity of his existence.

Though it was annoying, he had a reason to come here. The lower world was going through a change that would certainly rock it to it's very foundations in such a way that it would undoubtedly bring about a War never seen in history. The ancient law had been broken, chaos was being to run amok and the equilibrium was shattered causing havoc and discord to run amok.

Which gave him the perfect cover to come here.

Apollo never considered himself a vengeful person, truly he didn't, but there was only so much he could be denied before taking action of his own. The fear of breaking the law had been washed clean with Hestia doing so not an hour ago. With it, the other Gods have ordered for her capture with the temporary release of the other Gods and Goddesses powers. However, there was very little they could do to her on their own.

Which could prove beneficial for him to come here, but this was a trip of his own accord. For so long, Hestia denied him what was so rightfully his and her latest disregard for him had been the final nail in the proverbial coffin that had been his patience. He wasn't going to place nice now. He was going to _make_ her his. He would _force_ her to be his. Once he was done, she would be crying his name and only when he was done and soiled her would he look upon the face of her ever loved _Diablo_ and smite his existence for so much as _daring_ to steal his property.

His eyes _burned_ at the notion and a cruel smile stretched across his face as he looked upon the figure that stood before him. A person whose very essence threatened to snuff out all life around him and without much hesitation, Apollo reached out with his hand.

''So...do we have a deal, Uncle?'' he said with a grin to which a figure that was just a giant skeleton with bits of rotten flesh and maggots fell from his decaying body. While adorning the skeletons body was a high priests robe.

The skeleton's visage twisted into a menacing grin as it's empty eye sockets flashed with an inner unholy fire. With his bony hand he reached and took hold of Apollo's hand with a soul wrenching grip.

" _ **We have a deal, nephew."**_

It was in that moment, Apollo had just struck a deal with Hades, the God of the Underworld and Guardian of the Well of Souls.

And with it, chaos shall reign from the skies, the Heavens shall weep and the Universe shall know the true meaning of _terror._

* * *

 **And that's a wrap.**

 **So, I know it's been a long time since my last update, but as I said before, I've been over sea's studying and have only recently come back. Apologies are again in order for my late absence, but I do humbly believe this time away has helped me.**

 **So, onto the questions?**

SteelBlackWing: **In no particular order, Yes that was Hermes, same person it was Hermes that knew Zeus, the shadow is a secret, and no Bell did not get an injection. Thanks for reviewing! :)**

GreyMan19: **Don't worry I've gotten it all figured it out. As for Izanagi, well he's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of problems to be dealt with.**

Zentari2238: **You know, I would have have said something to this, but I'm just not in the mood to talk smack with a child. It's the holiday's and I don't plan to let you put a damper on me.**

Crofty666: **Lol nice one on the custard, but in all seriousness. The fights I have planned for Bell shall be fan-fucking-tastic adrenaline pumping awesome! No Ares does not have anything like that, trust me I got that particular thing planned out. As for the last question, who knows?**

Revinator: **I love mythology so there was no way I wouldn't introduce them as well in one giant conclusive gathering of all the pantheons in one meeting. No, I don't plan to make Bell's "power up" seem inconsequential, it's been planned out before the chapter was made to smooth out any potential hiccups. Also for the weapon change, who knows?**

zerodragon: **Next chapter, I promise.**

TykkiMikk: **A touch of realism goes a long way in making a story feel more alive and refreshing. If a story was completely soft and sugary sweet all the time, every time. It would be a complete and utter bore. FACT.**

 **I understand and I apologize if I seemed to have snapped at you, but people like to the majority of authors give power ups for no random whatsoever without giving them a chance to explain or the patience to wait it out. And while I admit lots of authors do this, I for one will not. I've planned this ALL out from the get go and tried to make it as coherent and also entertaining as possible.**

Sirouga: **Glad you're enjoying this and hope you continue to read in the future. As for what you said, in essence Kaguya IS a Primordial Goddess in of herself. Her abilities warp the very fabric of time and space, dimensional shifting and warping are completely within her own capabilities. Creating and destroying dimensions on a whim? Yeah no ordinary God can do that. However if I were to weigh her power with others...well let's just say she's Middle to High-tier on the Primordial scale.**

 **And that's it for the questions, I do sincerely hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I pray you can forgive my absence and I hope you can wait for the next update, for which will come real soon.**

 **Also I have a link of the seal on Bell linked to my profile if you're my curious about it!**

 **Till then, ja'ne!**

 **AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HANUKKAH EVERYONE!**


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